Purdue and Sackler families agree to $7.4 billion opioid settlement
Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family that controls it have agreed to pay up to $7.4 billion (£6 billion) to settle claims over its powerful prescription painkiller OxyContin.
The deal represents an increase of more than $1 billion over the previous agreement Which was rejected by the US Supreme Court in 2024According to news agencies AP and Reuters.
Under the terms of the settlement, the Sacklers agreed to pay up to $6.5 billion and Purdue agreed to pay $900 million.
OxyContin, often a gateway to harder drugs like heroin, has been blamed for exacerbating the deadly opioid crisis in the US, and has generated billions of dollars for the Sackler family.
“We are extremely pleased to have reached a new agreement that will provide billions of dollars to compensate victims, mitigate the opioid crisis, and provide treatment and overdose prevention medications that will save lives,” Purdue said in a statement. “
The deal still needs court approval, and some details have not yet been finalized, but the AP says it will face lawsuits by local, state, Native American tribal governments and others seeking to hold the companies accountable. One of the largest agreements in a series of. For a deadly epidemic.
Under President Donald Trump, the federal government is not expected to oppose the new deal, according to the AP.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong told Reuters the settlement would help provide relief to victims of the opioid crisis.
“It’s not just about the money,” Tong said. “There’s not enough money in the world to do it right.”
Since 1999, a few years after the drug became available, opioid overdose deaths have increased by the thousands annually.
Court filings allege that the Sackler family had long been aware of the legal risks, and had withdrawn approximately $11 billion from the company in the decade before its bankruptcy. He stashed much of the money overseas, while using some of it to pay company taxes, making recovery difficult.
