All 50 states as well as Washington, D.C., and four U.S. territories have agreed to sign a $7.4 billion settlement with the company and once-prominent family behind OxyContin, officials announced Monday.
The settlement resolves pending litigation against Purdue Pharma, which, under the leadership of the Sackler families, invented, manufactured and aggressively marketed opioid products for decades, according to the lawsuits. States and cities across the country said it fueled waves of addiction and overdose deaths.
The attorneys general in 55 states and territories have signed on to the historic settlement, which they said will end the Sacklers’ ownership of Purdue and bar them from making, selling or marketing opioids in the U.S.
California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia led the team that negotiated the settlement, which marks the largest of its kind involving the opioid crisis, officials said.
“As Pennsylvania families and communities suffered during an unprecedented addiction crisis, Purdue and the Sacklers reaped the mammoth profits from their products,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a statement. “This monumental settlement achieves the top priority of getting as much money as quickly as possible to prevention, treatment, and recovery programs across the Commonwealth. My office will continue engagement with municipal leaders to ensure millions of dollars reach every corner of the state.”
In this Feb. 19, 2013, file photo, OxyContin pills are shown at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt.
Toby Talbot/AP, FILE
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