Purdue Pharma and its former owners in the notorious Sackler family will pay $7.4 billion to settle lawsuits with all 50 states, four territories and Washington, D.C.
The deal was finalized Monday after first being proposed in March. It is expected to conclude more than five years of legal back-and-forth as state attorneys general attempt to hold the OxyContin manufacturer and its owners responsible for their role in the opioid crisis.
“While no amount of money can fully heal the destruction they caused, these funds will save lives and help our communities fight back against the opioid crisis,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a press release.
New York will receive up to $250 million from the sprawling settlement. The deal also bars Purdue Pharma or its former owners in the Sackler family from manufacturing, marketing or selling opioids in the future.
Purdue Pharma began selling OxyContin, a brand name version of the painkiller oxycodone, in 1996. In the ensuing two decades, the company raked in billions of dollars while hundreds of thousands of Americans died from opioid overdoses. Amid a pile of litigation in 2019, Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy.
However, the Sackler family’s net worth remains estimated at $11 billion. Sackler family members are expected to contribute between $6 billion and $7 billion to the settlement over the next 15 years.
The 50-state settlement has been subject to heated negotiations for years. A $6 billion deal was reached in 2023, but the Supreme Court rejected it last year, prompting the Sacklers to increase their contribution.
