Purdue Pharma and its Sackler household house owners have reached a brand new $7.4 billion settlement to resolve hundreds of lawsuits alleging that the ache remedy Oxycontin precipitated a widespread opioid habit disaster within the US, Texas lawyer common Ken Paxton stated Thursday.
The settlement was introduced almost seven months after the US Supreme Court docket upended the corporate’s earlier try and resolve the lawsuits in a chapter settlement that may have granted the Sacklers sweeping civil immunity from opioid lawsuits in change for a cost of as much as $6 billion.
The Supreme Court docket dominated that the Sacklers, who didn’t file for chapter themselves, weren’t entitled to authorized protections meant to offer bankrupt debtors a “fresh start.”
Underneath the brand new settlement, the Sacklers pays $7.4 billion, with out absolutely shutting off lawsuits from states, native governments, or particular person victims of the opioid disaster. Those that don’t want to be part of the settlement are free to pursue lawsuits in opposition to the Sacklers, who’ve stated they might vigorously defend themselves in court docket.
Connecticut lawyer Basic William Tong stated that the settlement would assist present closure to victims of the opioid disaster.
“It’s not just about the money,” Tong stated. “There is not enough money in the world to make it right.”
The most recent settlement is supposed to handle a drug habit disaster that has led to over 700,000 opioid overdose deaths in the US over the previous twenty years.
Purdue stated Thursday that it was working to include the settlement into a brand new chapter plan.
“We are extremely pleased that a new agreement has been reached that will deliver billions of dollars to compensate victims, abate the opioid crisis, and deliver treatment and overdose rescue medicines that will save lives,” Purdue stated in an announcement.
Purdue is certainly one of many drug producers, distributors, pharmacy operators and others who’ve collectively lately agreed to pay about $50 billion to resolve lawsuits and investigations by states and native governments accusing them of serving to gas a lethal opioid habit epidemic within the US.
Purdue filed for chapter in 2019 within the face of hundreds of lawsuits accusing it and members of the Sackler household of fueling the epidemic via misleading advertising of its extremely addictive ache drugs.
The corporate pleaded responsible to misbranding and fraud expenses associated to its advertising of OxyContin in 2007 and 2020. Members of the Sackler household have denied wrongdoing however expressed “regret” over Oxycontin’s function within the opioid disaster.
