All 50 states agree to $7.4 billion Purdue Pharma settlement

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane on Wednesday was due to consider a request by the maker of OxyContin to set a schedule to confirm the deal. The attorneys general for every state, Washington D.C., and four territories on Sunday agreed to sign on to the settlement that would resolve thousands of lawsuits brought against the company over its role in the opioid crisis. The plan requires the Sackler family, the current owners of Purdue Pharma, to contribute about $6.5 billion to the $7.4 billion deal, give up ownership of Purdue, and be prohibited from selling opioids in the United States. Following bankruptcy proceedings, local governments and individuals will be asked to join the settlement, according to the attorneys general. Groups that do not opt in to the settlement would still be allowed to sue members of the Sackler family, according to the company.

What else is included in the settlement? Most of the settlement funds will be distributed in the first three years, according to a statement from Connecticut Attorney General William Tong’s office. States and creditors will appoint a board of trustees to oversee the future of Purdue, and the company will be prohibited from lobbying for or the marketing of opioids. The settlement will also make public millions of documents related to the opioid business and the Sackler family.

Was there another settlement proposed? The U.S. Supreme Court last summer overturned a $6 billion agreement negotiated by nine states. The justices rejected the settlement over the Sackler family’s request for immunity from civil lawsuits related to the sale and marketing of opioids. The involved parties resumed negotiations following the ruling and Purdue Pharma agreed to the new settlement in January.

Dig deeper: Listen to Mary Muncy’s report about how states are planning to use settlement funds from the drug company.