Purdue Pharma $7.4bn opioid settlement wins broad support from US states

The suit, brought by 55 attorneys general, will help compensate victims and fund addiction treatment programmes.

The attorneys general of all 50 US states, Washington, DC, and four US territories have agreed to a $7.4bn settlement with drugmaker Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin – the pain medication that allegedly fuelled a nationwide opioid addiction crisis in the United States.

The group, led by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, announced the deal on Monday.

“While we know that no amount of money can erase the pain for those who lost loved ones to this crisis, this settlement will help prevent future tragedies through education, prevention, and other resources,” Platkin said in a news release.

“The Sacklers put greed and profit over human lives, and with this settlement, they will never be allowed to sell these drugs again in the United States,” Platkin added, referring to the family who owns Purdue Pharma.

The company’s payment is intended to resolve thousands of lawsuits against the drugmaker. The group of attorneys general said most of the settlement funds will be distributed to recipients within the first three years.

Payouts would begin after the drugmaker wins sufficient creditor support for its Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan. Money would go to individuals, state and local governments, and Native American tribes and the Sackler family would cede control of Purdue.

According to several attorneys general, Monday’s agreements do not include Oklahoma, which in 2019 reached a $270m settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers to resolve opioid-related claims.

Platkin said members of the Sackler family have confirmed their plan to proceed with the settlement.

The settlement will also help fund addiction treatment, prevention and recovery programmes over the next 15 years, according to the attorney general.

“This settlement in principle is the nation’s largest settlement to date with individuals responsible for the opioid crisis,” his office said.

Purdue has been the subject of a backlash for years over accusations that it fuelled the US opioid epidemic. The bankrupt Stamford, Connecticut-based pharmaceutical company was known for aggressively marketing its drug to doctors and patients and calling it nonaddictive although it is highly addictive.

Purdue responded to the settlement by calling it a “milestone”.

“Today’s announcement of unanimous support among the states and territories is a critical milestone towards confirming a Plan of Reorganization that will provide billions of dollars to compensate victims, abate the opioid crisis, and deliver opioid use disorder and overdose rescue medicines that will save American lives,” a Purdue spokesperson told Al Jazeera.

In June last year, the US 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 $6bn under that settlement.

More than 850,000 people have died from opioid-related overdoses since 1999, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although deaths have recently declined.