A $7.4 billion lawsuit settlement was reached against Purdue Pharma for their role in fueling the nation’s opioid crisis. Pennsylvania is set to receive more than $200 million from it for substance abuse treatment and recovery resources.
Pennsylvania is expected to receive up to $212 million in a new multi-state lawsuit settlement against the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma, Inc., for their role in fueling an opioid crisis across the country.
PA Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that a $7.4 billion settlement was reached between the pharmaceutical company and its owners and a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general and other parties.
The settlement is subject to court approval, with preliminary figures indicating the commonwealth will get more than $200 million, with payouts happening over the next 15 years.
“No dollar amount could ever replace what has been lost due to the opioid epidemic, but this settlement will go a long way in bolstering treatment resources and helping Pennsylvanians achieve recovery,” Sunday said. “This epidemic, no doubt, was fueled by Purdue Pharma’s manufacturing and deceptive marketing of OxyContin, a highly potent and addictive drug. Dependency on the drug ruined countless lives, while the Sackler family and Purdue made more than $35 billion from its distribution, profiting off of the suffering of others.”
The settlement ends the Sacklers’ control of Purdue, and ability to sell opioids in the U.S., and will deliver funding directly to communities across the country to support opioid addiction treatment, prevention, and recovery programs.
A significant amount of the settlement funds will be distributed in the first three years, with the Sacklers paying $1.5 billion and Purdue paying nearly $900 million in the first payment, followed by $500 million after one year, an additional $500 million after two years, and $400 million after three years.
Other states involved in the lawsuit include New York, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
This settlement is in addition to the $1.07 billion Pennsylvania has started to receive from pharma distributors Cardinal Health, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen, along with manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, after another opioid lawsuit was settled against them back in 2022.
