Purdue Pharma, Sackler family to settle U.S. opioid lawsuits for US$7.4B
Purdue Pharma has won support from the attorneys general of 55 U.S. states and territories for its $7.4 billion settlement to resolve thousands of opioid lawsuits against the drugmaker and its owners, members of the Sackler family.
A framework for the settlement had been announced in January by New York Attorney General Letitia James and other states, and the support announced on Monday could help Purdue Pharma win court approval for its bankruptcy reorganization.
The $7.4 billion payment is intended to resolve claims that the drugmaker’s pain medication OxyContin caused a nationwide opioid addiction crisis.
It includes about $6.5 billion from the Sacklers and about $900 million from Purdue Pharma.
Payouts would begin after the drugmaker wins sufficient creditor support for its Chapter 11 plan. Money would go to individuals, state and local governments, and Native American tribes, and the Sacklers would cede control of Purdue and be barred from selling opioids in the United States.
“For decades, the Sacklers put profits over people, and played a leading role in fueling the epidemic,” James said in a statement. “While no amount of money can fully heal the destruction they caused, these funds will save lives and help our communities fight back against the opioid crisis.”
According to several attorneys general, Monday’s agreements do not include Oklahoma, which in 2019 reached a $270 million settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers to resolve opioid-related claims.
Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an earlier settlement that would have given the Sacklers broad immunity from opioid-related civil lawsuits. The Sacklers would have paid about $6 billion under that settlement.
More than 850,000 people have died from opioid-related overdoses since 1999, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though deaths have recently declined.
In 2022, Purdue agreed to pay $150 million to Canadian provinces and territories to resolve a class-action lawsuit against the company over the opioid crisis in Canada. The sum was the largest settlement for a government health claim in Canadian history.
—With additional files from Global News
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