ReutersPurdue Pharma and the Sackler family that controlled it have agreed to pay up to $7.4 billion (£6 billion) to settle claims over its powerful prescription painkiller OxyContin.
The agreement represents an increase of more than $1 billion over a previous settlement. which was rejected in 2024 by the United States Supreme Courtaccording to the AP and Reuters news agencies.
Under the terms of the deal, the Sacklers agreed to pay up to $6.5 billion and Purdue $900 million.
Oxycontin, often a gateway to harder drugs like heroin, has been blamed for amplifying America’s deadly opioid crisis and generated billions of dollars for the Sackler family.
The New York Attorney General’s Office said the deal would fund support for treatment and prevention of opioid addiction across the United States.
“We are extremely pleased that a new agreement has been reached that will provide billions of dollars to compensate victims, alleviate the opioid crisis and provide overdose relief treatments and medications that will save lives,” Purdue said in a press release.
The deal still needs court approval, and some details still need to be worked out, but AP said it was one of the most significant agreements reached in a series of lawsuits filed by local governments, state, Native American tribal and others seeking to hold corporations accountable. for the deadly epidemic.
Under President Donald Trump, the federal government is not expected to oppose the new deal, according to AP.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong told Reuters the settlement would help bring closure to victims of the opioid crisis.
“It’s not just about money,” Tong said. “There’s not enough money in the world to fix it.”
Under the previous plan rejected last year, the Sacklers would have received immunity from prosecution in exchange for a $6 billion payment.
The current court order blocking lawsuits against members of the Sackler family is set to expire Friday, AP reported, but a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge has been asked to keep it in effect through February in the meantime. the latest details.
A woman, who has been recovering for 17 years after becoming addicted to the painkiller following a back injury, has welcomed the deal.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Kara Trainor said, “Everything in my life is shaped by a company that puts profits over human lives.”
Purdue has become a household name in the United States as the manufacturer and promoter of OxyContin – a prescription painkiller that it touts as safe, even though it knows it is highly addictive and widely used. consumes.
Since 1999, a few years after the drug became available, deaths from opioid overdoses have climbed to tens of thousands each year.
Court filings allege that the Sackler family had long been aware of the legal risks and had taken some $11 billion out of the company in the decade before its bankruptcy. They hid much of the money offshore, while using some of it to pay corporate taxes, making recovery difficult.
