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Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has filed for bankruptcy. The company cut a settlement deal amid a number of lawsuits. Purdue Pharma filed bankruptcy as part of that settlement which will pay out cash that will go towards fighting the ongoing opioid crisis, according to the Associated Press.
The Sackler family, which owns the private company and has vowed $3 billion of their own money to the settlement, said that the settlement “is a historic step toward providing critical resources that address a tragic public health situation.”
Purdue Chairman Steve Miller added: “This settlement framework avoids wasting hundreds of millions of dollars and years on protracted litigation and instead will provide billions of dollars and critical resources to communities across the country trying to cope with the opioid crisis.”
The company is currently facing lawsuits from 2,600 government and other entities, though half of the states have not signed on to the settlement proposal at this time.
Lawyers for some plaintiffs believe the payouts will not come close to the $12 billion initially offered. And by filing for bankruptcy, Purdue Pharma would not be found liable by a jury or judge.
Purdue Pharma came into the spotlight during the rise of the opioid crisis. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids were involved in more than 47,000 deaths in 2017 and 2018. OxyContin was first introduced in 1996 and was marketed as a drug with a low risk of addiction, despite studies showing otherwise.
Because of the spotlight on opioids, OcyContin has taken center stage because it is believed that Purdue Pharma aggressively pushed the drug when it was first introduced. By writing “a blizzard of prescriptions”, Purdue Pharma was able to “bury the competition” with OxyContin.
