In a recent hearing, US bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, New York, approved Purdue Pharma’s $6bn settlement plan.
The Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, will pay between $5.5bn and $6bn over the course of 18 years to victims of addiction and US states for their role in the opioid epidemic.
Judge Drain called the settlement an “extraordinary” improvement following the previous offers made by the Sacklers, as the new approved settlement is a billion dollars more than a previously proposed settlement which was thrown out of court in December 2021.
Although the settlement will end any civil claims made against the Sacklers over Purdue’s involvement in the opioid crisis, it does not make them exempt from future criminal liability.
Speaking on the proceedings, Connecticut attorney general William Tong said: “No settlement will ever come close to addressing the magnitude of suffering and harm caused by Purdue and the Sackler family.
“But in reaching this $6bn settlement we recognised that we could not stall this process forever for victims and our sister states.”
The Sacklers will be banned from the opioid industry in the US and internationally, while – as with the original settlement – the company will be dissolved or sold.
Moreover, the latest ruling would require the Sacklers to have their family name removed by institutions, as Tong added: “Museums and universities may now scrub the tarnished Sackler name from their walls – ensuring this family is remembered throughout history for their callous disdain for human suffering and nothing else.”
Though the settlement is still waiting for final approval, the Sackler family said that they are ‘pleased to have reached a settlement’ while continuing to maintain their innocence.
In a recent statement, the Sacklers said: “While the families have acted lawfully in all respects, they sincerely regret that OxyContin, a prescription medicine that continues to help people suffering from chronic pain, unexpectedly became part of an opioid crisis that has brought grief and loss to far too many families and communities.”
In 2019, Purdue filed for bankruptcy following a growing number of lawsuits alleging misleading marketing of Oxycontin, the company’s highly addictive chronic pain relief drug.
Despite the family maintaining their innocence, in 2020 Purdue pleaded guilty to three felonies, including one count of conspiracy to defraud the US and violate the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Cosmetic Act and two counts of conspiracy to violate the federal anti-kickback statute.