All 50 states, Washington D.C., and four U.S. territories have agreed to a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, resolving litigation over their role in the opioid crisis. The agreement, the largest of its kind, bars the Sacklers from opioid-related activities in the U.S. and directs funds towards addiction treatment, prevention, and recovery programs, with initial payments including $1.5 billion from the Sacklers and approximately $900 million from Purdue over the first year.
The resolution of extensive opioid-related litigation is marked by a $7.4 billion settlement between all 50 U.S. states, Washington D.C., four U.S. territories, and Purdue Pharma along with the Sackler family, addressing Purdue's role in the opioid crisis through its aggressive marketing of OxyContin. This agreement, surpassing a previously overturned $6 billion deal, stipulates that the Sacklers will relinquish ownership of Purdue Pharma and are barred from future opioid-related business in the U.S. The settlement funds are designated for opioid addiction treatment, prevention, and recovery initiatives over a 15-year period, with significant initial disbursements including $1.5 billion from the Sacklers and approximately $900 million from Purdue in the first payment, followed by structured payments totaling $1.4 billion over the subsequent three years. Purdue Pharma, which entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019, will continue operations under the oversight of a monitor and a state-selected board of trustees, with a revised mission to provide opioid use disorder treatments and overdose rescue medicines, ceasing opioid marketing and lobbying. The finalization of this landmark settlement is contingent upon bankruptcy court approval, with a hearing scheduled imminently.
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