A $6 billion (£4.85 billion) settlement will shield Purdue Pharma’s billionaire owners from claims related to the US drug crisis.
The manufacturer of medications like OxyContin, Purdue, which declared bankruptcy in 2019 among thousands of lawsuits, is held responsible for the epidemic.
An appeals court decided on Tuesday that the Sackler family, the business’s owners, would be granted complete immunity from civil lawsuits.
They will provide $6 billion in return to help combat opioid addiction.
The court’s decision eliminates a significant obstacle to the family’s request for civil immunity, which has been made for some time now. It is anticipated that it will finance recovery programs and other addiction treatments and will be distributed to local and state governments as well as those who sued the firm.
The decision was made by a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The settlement’s specifics have been disputed in court for many years.
Judge Eunice Lee ruled that there was a direct connection between the allegations made against Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family. She determined that Purdue Pharma would be unable to reach a bankruptcy agreement if lawsuits were allowed to continue to be filed against them.
Here is a tweet below which verifies the news:
A federal court ruling has cleared the way for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma to settle thousands of legal claims over the toll of opioids. https://t.co/jKxeBs96NQ
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 30, 2023
Sacklers Settle Opioid Lawsuits
The decision clears the way for the settlement, which must now get final court approval. Although it shields the family from any foreseeable legal lawsuits, it does not shield them from conceivable criminal accusations.
The Sackler family will give up control of the business, which will be renamed Knoa, as part of the settlement, and will donate its income to a foundation for addiction treatment.
As part of the agreement, the family was obliged to hear the testimonies of people who had been affected by the drug. State and local governments made up a large portion of the complainants. They claimed OxyContin was to blame for the opioid epidemic.
The family also agrees to have their name taken off of any buildings or scholarships.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were more than 100,000 overdose deaths in the US in 2021, with opioids being responsible for 75% of those deaths.
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Opioids were marketed by Purdue Pharma as non-addictive medications, and the business previously entered a guilty plea to charges arising from its opioid marketing. The Sackler clan has refuted accusations of malfeasance.
The two founders of Purdue Pharma, Mortimer and Raymond Sackler, whose families have now passed away, were pleased with Tuesday’s choice.
“The Sackler families believe the long-awaited implementation of this resolution is critical to providing substantial resources for people and communities in need,” they stated in a statement.
Going forward, Purdue Pharma declared that they would concentrate their financial efforts on “victim compensation, opioid crisis abatement, and overdose rescue medicines.”
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