Purdue Pharma’s years-long court battle may finally be coming to an end. Federal Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane on Friday approved the drug company’s new agreement to resolve thousands of lawsuits related to its promotion of the highly addictive painkiller OxyContin.
Purdue University, founded and owned by the Sackler family, has manufactured and sold OxyContin since the 1990s. Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019, and more than 2,500 lawsuits were filed by state, local governments, hospitals and individuals alleging that the company and its family directly contributed to the opioid crisis by intentionally misleading consumers about the drug’s addictive properties. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 564,000 people died from opioids in the United States between 1999 and 2020.
While details of the deal won’t be released until Tuesday, members of the Sackler family are expected to be asked to contribute up to $7 billion and give up ownership of Purdue. this guardian The report said the new deal is expected to provide room for people to directly prosecute members of the Sackler family for their role in the opioid crisis.
The deal replaces a deal approved in 2021 and blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court last year that would have dissolved Purdue and allocated $4.5 billion in corporate funds to fight the opioid epidemic and resolve related claims. However, the deal included a controversial provision that would prevent the Sacklers from being sued over future claims. The Supreme Court struck down the provision in a 5-4 decision by Justice Neil Gorsuch, who held that federal bankruptcy law does not allow for third-party liability protection in a bankruptcy agreement.
For decades, members of the Sackler family have been among the arts world’s most high-profile donors. However, amid public outcry over the opioid epidemic and the efforts of artist Nan Goldin’s activist group PAIN, many institutions, including London’s National Gallery, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum and others, have removed the Sackler’s name from their buildings.
