Sackler family to pay $6.5 billion for their role in ‘fueling’ opioid epidemic

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Purdue Pharma, the makers and marketers of the highly addictive opioid OxyContin, and the family that owned the company, the Sackler family, have agreed to pay $7.4 billion to individuals, states, local governments and other claimants who suffered as a result of the drug, for their “instrumental role in creating the opioid crisis.” The new settlement was announced on Thursday by 15 state attorney generals, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, just seven months after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a previous settlement deal. If approved, Purdue Pharma will contribute $900 million upfront while the Sackler family pays $6.5 billion over the next 15 years – a $500 million increase from the previous settlement. open image in gallery OxyContin, the highly addictive prescription opioid, was marketed and manufactured by Purdue Pharma in the mid to late 1990s Unlike the prior settlement, the new deal will not include a provision that protects the Sackler family from civil litigation – a point of contention that the Supreme Court said violated bankruptcy law. “We have worked intensely with our creditors for months in mediation, and we are now focused on finalizing the details of a new Plan of Reorganization, which we look forward to presenting to the bankruptcy court.” open image in gallery The Supreme Court overturned the settlement and bankruptcy deal the Sackler family had struck with Purdue Pharma last year Millions of people in the U.S. have been impacted by the opioid epidemic.