OxyContin maker to pay massive settlement

The maker of OxyContin agreed to settle claims from 22 states and more than 2,000 local governments for damages in the opioid crisis, attorneys said Wednesday. Purdue Pharma is expected to fork over as much as $12 billion in the largest settlement with a pharmaceutical company in U.S. history. The agreement also requires the Sackler family, which owns the company, to give up control.

Does that end the lawsuits? Not everyone is happy with the settlement, and attorneys general in some states said they will continue their lawsuits against the company. “Far too many lives have been lost or devastated in Rhode Island as a result of the opioid crisis,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said Wednesday. “We are committed to continuing to aggressively pursue our claims against Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers.” Due to the tentative settlement and likely bankruptcy filing, a judge will probably exclude Purdue Pharma from the first federal trial over the opioid epidemic scheduled for next month in Cleveland against a group of drugmakers, distributors, and Walgreens.

Dig deeper: Read Charissa Koh’s report in Compassion about how states will likely spend the settlement money.