End Substance Use Disorder Statement on Proposed Purdue Pharma Settlement
Today, fifteen states announced an agreement with Purdue Pharma, the maker of Oxycontin, that would open the pathway to a $4.5 billion settlement for their role in opioid overdose crisis. End Substance Use Disorder released the following statement:
“Cold corporate greed fueled the overdose crisis that took the lives of loved ones like my little brother. This settlement does nothing to discourage corporations from placing profits over public safety in the future,” said Erin Schanning, president of End Substance Use Disorder. “The Sacklers will walk away with billions of dollars made on the suffering and deaths of millions. This agreement provides the wrong incentives for those who wish to protect our families and communities from corporate greed: The Sacklers will keep their mountains of cash and make no admission of wrongdoing.”
Under the agreement, the fifteen states will drop their opposition to Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy plan, which is currently blocking the settlement of the claims brought by more than 3,000 plaintiffs. Purdue Pharma will release 20 million documents on top of the 13 million that the company has already produced. The Sacklers will pay an additional $50 million. In exchange, Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family will not admit to any wrongdoing and the Sacklers will be released from liability for opioid-related lawsuits. The Sacklers’ total net worth is estimated at $11 billion.
Over half a million Americans have died of an opioid overdose in the last two decades, many due to prescription painkillers. Eight states continue to oppose the agreement, including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. The bankruptcy judge will decide whether to certify the plan after a hearing in early August.
End Substance Use Disorder has joined with leading organizations to endorse a set of guiding principles for how states, cities, and counties should use funds received from the opioid litigation.