Purdue Pharma opioid settlement between $10-$12B
A proposed settlement would see Purdue Pharma shell out between $10 billion and $12 billion to close thousands of lawsuits over the company’s role in the opioid abuse and overdose epidemic. As the maker of OxyContin, one of the most popular opioids on the market, the company has faced an onslaught of criticism and legal battles for its marketing tactics and greed.
The owners of Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family, could chip in $3 billion of that total, The New York Times reported. In addition, the family would give up ownership of the company under the settlement proposal, which would mark the first drugmaker to settle all claims against it over the opioid crisis. NBC was first to report news of the settlement talks.
But the settlement wouldn’t provide a cash payout, the NY Times reported, but by restructuring the company as a public beneficiary trust for at least 10 years by giving up private ownership and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. From this structure, drug profits would go to cities, towns, states and tribes who are the plaintiffs.
Purdue would also provide the public with addiction treatment drugs, which are under development and have fast-track review status from the FDA, for free. The Sacklers may also have to provide $1.5 billion if the family sells off another global pharma company, Mundipharma. Purdue’s intentions are to reach a global settlement to end all lawsuits against the company, according to the NY Times.
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Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."