In a significant legal development, Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, have been ordered to pay $7.4 billion for their substantial role in the US opioid addiction epidemic. The settlement comes after the family faced accusations of exacerbating the crisis through the widespread promotion and sale of potent painkillers, including OxyContin, an opioid with similarities to heroin.
The opioid crisis, which took root in the late 1990s, is often attributed to the aggressive marketing and widespread prescription of opioid medications for pain relief, without adequate warnings about their addictive nature. Pharmaceutical companies, including Purdue Pharma, assured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to opioid pain relievers, which led healthcare providers to prescribe them at greater rates.
This widespread prescription, coupled with insufficient regulatory oversight, resulted in a dramatic increase in opioid misuse and addiction in the United States. By the early 2000s, the addictive nature of these drugs became evident, leading to a surge in overdose cases and opioid-related deaths. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 1999 to 2019, nearly 500,000 people died from an overdose involving any opioid, including prescription and illicit opioids.
Prosecutors argued that Purdue Pharma’s actions contributed significantly to an addiction wave that has claimed an estimated half a million lives in the United States, according to health services data. The settlement involves a payment of $6.5 billion by the Sackler family and $900 million by Purdue Pharma, a now bankrupt entity. This agreement is pending approval by a judge and marks a new chapter following a previously overturned $6 billion settlement.
The Supreme Court had rejected the earlier agreement as unlawful due to clauses that protected the Sackler family from future lawsuits. Under the terms of the new settlement, the Sacklers are prohibited from holding decision-making roles in Purdue Pharma and from selling opioids.
The financial restitution is earmarked for rehabilitation programs and initiatives aimed at preventing addiction. New York Attorney General expressed that while the settlement cannot undo the suffering caused, it provides affected communities with resources to combat the opioid crisis. “The Sackler family has always pursued profits at the expense of vulnerable patients and has played a crucial role in causing and fueling the opiate epidemic,” the Attorney General stated, highlighting the gravity of the case and the need for accountability.