More states back $7.4 billion Purdue Pharma opioid settlement
Fifty-five attorneys general around the country have now signed on to a $7.4 billion settlement with drugmaker Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, over the opioid crisis, officials said.
Fifteen states initially agreed to the settlement in January. Since then, an additional 34 states, five territories and Washington, D.C., joined the settlement, according to details released Monday by attorneys general involved in the case. Oklahoma reached a separate $270 million settlement in 2019.
If the settlement is approved in court, it would end the Sacklers' control of Purdue, maker of the addictive painkiller OxyContin, and block the family from selling opioids in the U.S., officials said.
"For decades, the Sacklers put profits over people, and played a leading role in fueling the epidemic of opioid addictions and overdoses," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. "While no amount of money can fully heal the destruction they caused, these funds will save lives and help our communities fight back against the opioid crisis."
The money will be paid out over the course of 15 years, but officials said over half of the funds will be distributed during the first few years. The Sacklers will make an initial payment of $1.5 billion and Purdue will pay about $900 million. Then the Sacklers will pay $500 million after a year, an additional $500 million after two years and $400 million more after three years.
Not all states will receive the same amount. California expected to receive as much as $440 million. Colorado estimated it would collect around $75 million. New Jersey estimated it would get up to $124.5 million. New York expected to receive up to $250 million.
In a statement to CBS News, Purdue said the settlement funds will be used to "compensate victims, abate the opioid crisis, and deliver opioid use disorder and overdose rescue medicines that will save American lives."
"We appreciate the extraordinarily hard work of the state attorneys general and our other creditors in getting us to this point," the company said.
The deal leaves Purdue in bankruptcy with oversight by a monitor and prevents the company from lobbying or marketing opioids. The states involved in the settlement will appoint a board of trustees to oversee the company and determine its future.
The previous Purdue bankruptcy settlement was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. In a 5-4 decision, the justices said that Sackler family members could not be shielded from liability for civil claims related to the opioid epidemic. The original settlement would have required the Sacklers and Purdue to pay over $4.5 billion.
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