A judge could advance Purdue Pharma's $7B opioid settlement after all 50 states back it
All 50 U.S. states have agreed to the OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma 's latest plan to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids .
A judge on Wednesday is being asked to clear the way for local governments and individual victims to vote on it.
Government entities, emergency room doctors, insurers, families of children born into withdrawal from the powerful prescription painkiller, individual victims and their families and others would have until Sept. 30 to vote on whether to accept the deal, which calls for members of the Sackler family who own the company to pay up to $7 billion over 15 years.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Virtual Incision Appoints Jim Alecxih as Chief Executive Officer
Seasoned medtech leader and former Intuitive Surgical executive to accelerate development and commercialization of the company's next-generation MIRA Surgical System platforms and technologies LINCOLN, Neb., June 18, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Virtual Incision Corporation, the developer of the MIRA Surgical System authorized by the FDA through the De Novo regulatory pathway, today announced the appointment of Jim Alecxih as chief executive officer. Alecxih, a recognized commercial leader in the medical device industry, brings more than 30 years of experience advancing transformative surgical technologies worldwide, including a distinguished tenure at Intuitive Surgical, where he played a pivotal role in the adoption and growth of the da Vinci Surgical System. Virtual Incision is now preparing for the accelerated development and commercialization of their next system, M2, with plans for a series of FDA submissions in various specialties. M2 is a miniaturized, single port surgical robotic system designed to be smart, simple and small, with the potential to minimize the cost and complexity of current mainframe cart-based surgical robotic systems. M2 will be optimized to bring robotic-assisted surgery to hospitals and surgical settings that lack access to surgical robotics technologies. Mr. Alecxih previously served as CEO of DH Medical, an AI software company, and has held executive leadership roles across multiple healthcare startups and growth-stage companies. At Intuitive Surgical, he led U.S. sales and was instrumental in driving adoption of robotic-assisted surgery among hospitals and health systems nationwide. "The opportunity to lead Virtual Incision at this pivotal time is an extraordinary honor," said Jim Alecxih, CEO of Virtual Incision. "I believe deeply in the benefits of robotic-assisted surgery to both patients, surgeons and hospitals. M2 has the potential to dramatically expand access to robotic-assisted surgery in rural hospitals, HOPD and ASC settings, and around the world. Virtual Incision's visionary approach is to ensure that robotic-assisted surgery is more accessible, flexible and scalable for a broader range of operating environments. I'm thrilled to join this talented team and help accelerate our impact on patients and providers." "We are delighted to welcome Mr. Alecxih to Virtual Incision at this significant stage in the company's growth," said Tyler Stowater, partner at Bluestem Capital and Virtual Incision board member. "Mr. Alecxih's exceptional leadership skills and deep industry knowledge make him the ideal person to lead us into our next phase of growth and innovation." Mr. Alecxih joins Virtual Incision at a time of significant momentum. In 2025, the company has been honored as a finalist or winner in three prestigious innovation awards: Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies SXSW Innovation Award Fierce MedTech's Fierce 15 Virtual Incision's MIRA Surgical System is designed to offer a portable, scalable solution for minimally invasive procedures with a small footprint and a simple setup. With M2, the company aims to expand clinical capabilities and will continue redefining the future of robotic-assisted surgery. About the MIRA Surgical System MIRA is the world's first miniaturized robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) system. Its small, sleek form factor is designed to offer the benefits of RAS during colectomy procedures without the logistical inefficiencies of traditional mainframe robotics. The easily accessible device weighs approximately two pounds (less than one kg) and offers internal triangulation with shoulders, arms, and infinite wrist roll inside of the body. It can be used in any operating room – a dedicated operating room is unnecessary. With its drape- and dock-free design and portability, MIRA is quick to set up, clean up, and move between cases. Its conveniently accessible design positions it to be used as a standalone system or a complementary tool for facilities that already own a legacy surgical robotic system. With MIRA, every operating room is RAS-ready. About Virtual Incision Virtual Incision is on a mission to simplify robotic-assisted surgery (RAS), so more patients and their surgeons can access its benefits every day. Headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, and holding over two hundred patents and patent applications, the company developed MIRA, the first-of-its-kind miniature RAS system. Virtual Incision's goal is to make every operating room RAS-ready. For more information, visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn. Important Safety Information The MIRA Surgical System is intended for prescription use only. Patients should talk to their doctor to decide if surgery with a MIRA Surgical System is right for them. For important safety information, indications for use, risks, and warnings, please refer to Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include but are not limited to, statements regarding our plans, beliefs, expectations, assumptions, and other statements that are not necessarily historical facts. You are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve risks and uncertainties. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements. This communication also contains market data related to our business and industry which includes projections that are based on several assumptions we believe are reasonable and most significant to the projections as of the date of this communication. If any of our assumptions prove to be incorrect, our actual results may significantly differ from our projections based on these assumptions. View source version on Contacts Media Contact: Ashlynn MeyerVirtual Sign in to access your portfolio
CNN
25 minutes ago
- CNN
Health harms linked to living near highly microplastic-polluted US coastlines, study finds
Sign up for CNN's Life, But Greener newsletter. Our limited newsletter series guides you on how to minimize your personal role in the climate crisis — and reduce your eco-anxiety. Living near heavily microplastic-polluted waters along the United States coastline may significantly raise the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, stroke and coronary artery disease, a condition in which plaque blocks the blood vessels feeding the heart, a new study found. 'This is one of the first large-scale studies to suggest that living near waters heavily polluted with microplastics may be linked to chronic health conditions,' said senior author Dr. Sarju Ganatra, medical director of sustainability and vice chair of research in the department of medicine at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Burlington, Massachusetts. 'While this study measured pollution in ocean water, pollution isn't limited to the sea. Microplastics are everywhere: in drinking water, in the food we eat, especially seafood, and even in the air we breathe,' Ganatra said in a statement. Microplastics are polymer fragments that can range from less than 0.2 inch (5 millimeters) down to 1/25,000th of an inch (1 micrometer). Anything smaller is a nanoplastic that must be measured in billionths of a meter. Such minuscule particles can invade individual cells and tissues in major organs, experts say, potentially interrupting cellular processes and depositing endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as bisphenols, phthalates, flame retardants, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, and heavy metals. 'The chemicals can be carried to your liver and your kidney and your brain and even make their way across the placental boundary and end up in an unborn child,' Sherri 'Sam' Mason, director of sustainability at Penn State Behrend in Erie, Pennsylvania, told CNN in an earlier interview. A flurry of recent studies have discovered microplastics and nanoplastics in human brain tissue, the testes and the penis, human blood, lung and liver tissues, urine and feces, mother's milk, and the placenta. In the first analysis to illustrate harm to human health, a March study found people with microplastics or nanoplastics in their carotid artery tissues were twice as likely to have a heart attack, stroke or die from any cause over the next three years than people who had none. Coastal waters were considered heavily polluted if every 'bathtub' of ocean water contained 10 or more plastic particles, according to the study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Measurements of microplastic concentrations were taken by the National Centers for Environmental Information between 2015 and 2020 for the ocean waters within 200 nautical miles of 152 coastal counties along the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Researchers then compared disease prevalence in those counties with whether residents lived near low or very high concentrations of microplastics. That data was then adjusted for other contributing risk factors such as age, sex, race, ethnicity, access to physicians and socioeconomic status. Compared with people who lived near waters with low levels of pollution — defined as seeing maybe 'one tiny plastic speck in 200 bathtubs of ocean water' — people who lived near highly polluted waters had an 18% higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes, a 9% higher risk of stroke and a 7% higher risk of coronary artery disease, the study found. However, the study cannot prove a cause-and-effect relationship between nearby ocean microplastic levels that were only measured in water and the development of cardiometabolic diseases, Ganatra said. 'We also didn't measure plastic levels in residents of these counties, and we don't yet know the exact ways these particles may harm the body. So, while the findings are compelling, they should be a call for more in-depth research, not for making definitive conclusions,' Ganatra added. The study has additional limitations, including lack of information on the chemicals microplastics contain, said Ria Devereux, an environmental research fellow for the Sustainability Research Institute of the University of East London via email. Chemicals commonly used in plastic production have been found to pose health risks, including skin irritation, respiratory diseases, hormonal disruptions and certain cancers. 'The adverse effects of chemicals used in plastic production are particularly pronounced in the Gulf of Mexico, an area often referred to as 'Cancer Alley,'' said Devereux, who was not involved in the new research. 'This region experiences a higher-than-average incidence of cancer, diabetes, and respiratory diseases, which are concentrated in particular areas. 'The reason behind this is the concentration of petrochemical, petroleum and production plants involved in plastic production and an increase in the presence of chemicals used within the plastic production such as BPA and Phthalates,' she added. Phthalates, which are found in consumer products such as food storage containers, shampoo, makeup, perfume and children's toys, may have contributed to more than 13% of all global mortality from heart disease in 2018 among men and women ages 55 through 64, according to an April study. 'Phthalates contribute to inflammation and systemic inflammation in the coronary arteries, which can accelerate existing disease and lead to acute events including mortality,' Dr. Leonardo Trasande, Jim G. Hendrick, M.D. Professor of Pediatrics and professor of population health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, told CNN in a prior interview. The chemical compound bisphenol A, or BPA, is an endocrine disruptor, affecting the hormones in the body, and fetuses and babies are especially vulnerable. The chemical compound has been linked to fetal abnormalities, low birth weight, and brain and behavior disorders in infants and children, as well as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and obesity in adults. One study even found erectile dysfunction in workers exposed to BPA. While it's not yet possible to clean microplastics from the ocean, there are steps one can take to reduce exposure to chemicals from plastics. 'One is to reduce our plastic footprint by using stainless steel and glass containers, when possible,' Trasande previously told CNN. 'Avoid microwaving food or beverages in plastic, including infant formula and pumped human milk, and don't put plastic in the dishwasher, because the heat can cause chemicals to leach out,' he said. In addition, check the recycling code on the bottom of packaging to find the plastic type, and avoid plastics with recycling code 3, which typically contain phthalates, Trasande said. Cut down on the use of disposable plastics and bring reusable bags to the grocery store, suggests the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. Invest in a zippered fabric bag and ask the dry cleaner to return your clothes in that instead of those thin sheets of plastic. Bring a travel mug to the local coffee store for takeout and silverware to the office, cutting back on plastic cups and utensils.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US added over 1,000 new millionaires a day last year, UBS report says
ZURICH (Reuters) -Wealth grew disproportionately quickly last year in the United States, where over 379,000 people became new U.S. dollar millionaires, more than a 1,000 a day, a report published on Wednesday showed. Private individuals' net worth rose 4.6% worldwide, and by over 11% in the Americas, driven by a stable U.S. dollar and upbeat financial markets, the 2025 Global Wealth Report by UBS found. The United States accounted for almost 40% of global millionaires in 2024. In 2023, Europe, the Middle East and Africa had led a rebound in global wealth after a decline in 2022. Greater China - which the report defined as mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan - led last year for individuals with a net worth of $100,000 to $1 million, accounting for 28.2%, followed by Western Europe with 25.4% and North America with 20.9%. The majority of people worldwide were below that threshold, however, with over 80% of adults in the UBS sample having a net worth of under $100,000. Overall, about 1.6% registered a net worth of $1 million or more, the report said. Over the next five years, the Swiss bank projects average wealth per adult to grow further, led by the United States, and, to a lesser extent, Greater China. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
