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The Sackler family, which owns the OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, has agreed to pay up to $7.4bn in a settlement to lawsuits arising from the opioid epidemic.
The sprawling deal, agreed between Purdue Pharma, Sackler family members involved in its ownership, thousands of victims of the opioid crisis, and state and local governments, is among the largest settlements of its kind.
Under the terms of the deal, which still needs to be approved in court, members of the Sackler family would contribute up to $7.4bn over 15 years. They would also relinquish control of Purdue, which developed and patented the highly addictive OxyContin in 1996, and the company would become a new entity with its board appointed by states and others who sued the company.
The money will be spread among victims of the opioid crisis or their survivors and state and local governments, with the money to be used to attempt to stem the decades-long epidemic.
Purdue sought bankruptcy protection in 2019 as it faced thousands of lawsuits over the opioid crisis. Among the claims are that the company targeted doctors with a message that the addiction risk to the powerful painkillers was low.
“This story is about a family of cruel billionaires who believed they were above the law, pursued by states who never backed down. Today, we are forcing Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family to pay $7.4 billion for their role in igniting one of the most devastating public health crises in American history,” William Tong, the Connecticut attorney general, said in a statement.
Some experts assert that the opioid epidemic began after OxyContin hit the market. Since then, opioids have been linked to hundreds of thousands of deaths in the US. The deadliest stretch has been since 2020, when illicit fentanyl has been found as a factor in more than 70,000 deaths annually.
News of the settlement comes after the supreme court blocked a $6bn agreement last year, because it protected Sackler family members from civil lawsuits over OxyContin.
There have been more than 100 lawsuits against drugmakers and wholesalers and pharmacies in recent years, leading to about $50bn in settlements.
Members of the Sackler family included in the settlement are Richard, Kathe, Mortimer Jr, Ilene, David and Theresa Sackler; and the estates of Jonathan and Beverly Sackler, the Connecticut attorney general’s office said.
The Sackler family have been cast as villains and have seen their name removed from art galleries and universities around the world because of their role in the privately held company. They have continued to deny claims of any wrongdoing.
Collectively, family members have been estimated to be worth billions more than they would contribute in the settlement, but much of the wealth is in offshore accounts and might be impossible to access through lawsuits.
In an October 2024 filing, one branch of the family pledged to defend itself in any cases that are allowed to move ahead, saying that the legal theory at the heart of the lawsuits – that Purdue and Sackler family members created a “public nuisance” – “is utterly devoid of merits”.
