Sacklers, Purdue Pharma, propose $10-12 billion opioid settlement that makes OxyContin firm a public trust
Purdue Pharma, makers of the opioid painkiller OxyContin, and the Sackler family that owns and founded the company have proposed a settlement worth $10 billion to $12 billion to resolve more than 2,000 federal, state, and local lawsuits blaming the company and family for helping start and profiting off the opioid crisis, NBC News and The New York Times report. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, as described to the Times, the Sacklers would pay $3 billion of their own money, give up ownership of Purdue, sell off another drug company — Mundipharma, worth an estimated $1.5 billion — and transform Purdue into a "public beneficiary trust" that would steer drug-sale profits toward the plaintiffs and give out its pending anti-addiction medications for free.
The profits from the Purdue products — including OxyContin — that would be funneled to the plaintiffs, plus the donated drugs, are valued at $7 billion to $8 billion, the Times reports.
About 10 states have been negotiating with Purdue for months in talks pushed by U.S. District Judge Dan Polster, who ordered all parties to keep discussions private. It's not clear the roughly 38 other states that have filed suit against Purdue and the Sacklers — Oklahoma settled with Purdue earlier this year — will sign on to the tentative agreement or that the 34,000 cities and counties that have not yet filed suit would agree to be governed by the global settlement.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Purdue said in a statement that while it is "prepared to defend iteself vigorously," it "sees little good coming from years of wasteful litigation and appeals." An executive committee for the plaintiffs told the Times: "Per Judge Polster's confidentiality order that we will respect, we cannot speak publicly to any speculation or media reports on settlement negotiations with the defendants we are preparing to litigate against in federal court this fall." Several state attorneys general and lawyers for local governments confirmed that they are in active talks with Purdue.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Passenger: 'pleasingly off-kilter' ITV crime drama
The Week Recommends There's 'plenty to be feared' in this British murder mystery set in a quiet northern town
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: March 27, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku hard: March 27, 2024
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billion
Speed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8
speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Immigration helped the US economy outpace peers
speed read The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.2% last quarter
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
4-day workweek gets boost from UK study
Speed Read Following a six-month trial, the majority of participating British companies are still using the truncated schedule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sues to block Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The Federal Trade Commission sued to block the $24.6 billion merger between the grocery giants
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Nvidia sees historic stock rise on AI chips success
Speed Read U.S. chipmaker Nvidia achieved the biggest one-day increase in value of any company in history
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New York may seize Trump's assets for $450M penalty
Speed Read The former president likely owes $600 million from two civil judgments in New York
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published