A bankruptcy judge has agreed to approve a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and its billionaire owners, the Sackler family, over their involvement in the US opioid crisis. The plan, first proposed in January, aims to end years of legal battles and release crucial funding for addiction recovery programs. Purdue, which filed for bankruptcy in 2019 amid thousands of lawsuits, will transfer ownership to a nonprofit called Knoa Pharma, focused on addressing the opioid epidemic.
The settlement amount exceeds a previous $6 billion deal rejected by the US Supreme Court, which ruled that the Sacklers could not be shielded from future civil lawsuits since they did not file for bankruptcy themselves. Under the new agreement, the Sackler family is expected to contribute between $6.5 billion and $7 billion, but will not receive immunity from further legal claims related to the opioid crisis.
Purdue Pharma, known for marketing OxyContin, has been blamed for fueling the opioid epidemic responsible for approximately 900,000 deaths since 1999. The company and the Sacklers faced multiple lawsuits accusing them of misleading doctors and patients about the drug’s addictive risks.
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