image credit: Reuters Fifteen US states have dropped their objections to Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy filing, paving the door for a multibillion-dollar settlement. It’s the first step toward the OxyContin painkiller producer paying $4.3 billion (£3.1 billion) to settle opioid-related lawsuits. The cash will be used to “avoid any future destruction,” according to the New York attorney general. A total of ten states are still opposed to the pharmaceutical giant’s plans. Purdue Pharma said it will strive to “create a stronger consensus” for its bankruptcy plan, according to a spokesman. “Billions of dollars of worth will be transferred into trusts for the benefit of the American people…affected by the opioid crisis,” they continued. Purdue pleaded guilty to criminal charges in 2020 in connection with its promotion of Oxycontin, which company knew was addictive. Defrauding health organizations and making illicit payments to doctors were among the charges. The corporation filed for bankruptcy a year ago, claiming it would restructure and assist in the fight against addiction. Purdue enters a guilty plea in a $8 billion opioid deal. The pharmaceutical behemoth will pay $230 million to resolve an opioid lawsuit. According to documents filed in a New York court on Wednesday, 15 states, including New Jersey and Massachusetts, had reached an arrangement with Purdue’s owners, the wealthy Sackler family, to pay an additional $50 million. As part of the agreement, the company will hand up millions of papers related to its participation in the opioid crisis. Opioids are a group of potent medications derived from opium poppies that can be used to inhibit pain signals between the brain and the body. They are available as legal prescription pharmaceuticals, as well as illegal street drugs like heroin. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioid addiction to both legal and illegal substances has been a severe, continuous problem in countries such as the United States, where almost half a million people died from overdoses between 1999 and 2019. “While no amount of money will ever compensate for the thousands who lost their lives or became addicted to opioids across our state, or provide solace to the countless families torn apart by this crisis,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James, “these funds will be used to prevent any future devastation.” The agreement is subject to ratification, but it calls for the Sackler family to pay $4.3 billion over the next nine years. image courtesy of Getty Images The Sackler family would also have to hand over management of their foundations to the trustees of a national opioid-related charity under the terms of the deal. It also comes after Johnson & Johnson said in June that it would pay $230 million (£165 million) to settle charges that it contributed to the opioid addiction issue in New York State. In settling with the state, the company did not admit guilt or wrongdoing, but it did agree to stop distributing medicines across the country. Industry of pharmaceuticals Opioids Companies in the United States/n
Read More
