The family that owns Purdue Pharma, the company that makes OxyContin, has agreed to pay up to $7.4 billion to settle claims about the harm caused by the strong prescription painkiller. This was announced by attorneys general from several states on Thursday.
The deal, agreed to by Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family members who own the business and lawyers representing state and local governments and thousands of victims of the opioid crisis, replaces a previous settlement deal that was rejected last year by the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the new agreement, the Sacklers will pay up to $6.5 billion and give up their ownership of the company, which will also pay about $900 million. Family members can contribute up to $500 million more than they could in the last deal.
It is one of the biggest agreements made in recent years in cases by local, state, and Native American governments and others trying to hold companies accountable for a serious epidemic. In addition to the Purdue deal, there are other deals worth about $50 billion that have been revealed. Most of this money is needed to help address the crisis.
The deal still needs approval from the court, and some terms are not finalized yet. A part of the federal Department of Justice objected to the earlier agreement, even though all the states had accepted it, and brought the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court. Under President Donald Trump, the federal government is likely to support the new deal.
“We are extremely pleased that a new agreement has been reached that will deliver billions of dollars to compensate victims, abate the opioid crisis, and deliver treatment and overdose rescue medicines that will save lives,” Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue said in a statement.
Sackler family representatives did not reply right away to calls for comments.
Kara Trainor, a woman from Michigan, has been in recovery for 17 years. She became hooked to opioids after getting a prescription for OxyContin to treat a back injury 23 years ago. She complimented the deal.
“Everything in my life is influenced by a company that cares more about making money than about people,” she said.
“Although no money can completely fix the harm done, this large amount of funds will provide help to communities in need so we can recover,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of 15 state attorneys general who worked on the deal.
In West Virginia, where the opioid problem is very serious, Attorney General JB McCuskey accepted the deal but criticized the company and its owners. “While people in West Virginia suffered from opioid addiction, the Sacklers were making money each time someone became addicted, getting rich without caring about the damage their drugs caused to individuals, families, and communities,” the Republican said in a statement.
Not every state has joined yet. A representative for Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said the office is still looking at the deal and considering its choices.
In the new plan, just like the last one, the Sackler family members would also give up their ownership of Purdue. They have already left the company’s board and haven’t taken any payments from Purdue since before the bankruptcy. The company will become a new organization, and its board will be chosen by the states and others that filed it.
Ed Neiger, a lawyer for opioid crisis victims, stated that between $800 million and $850 million will be given to victims or their families. This is an aspect that most drug settlements do not have. The deal includes up to $800 million reserved to cover any future settlements if new claims are filed against the Sacklers, as stated by the New York attorney general’s office.
Last year, the Supreme Court stopped a previous agreement because it shielded rich family members from civil claims about OxyContin, even though those family members were not bankrupt. The new agreement only saves family members from lawsuits by organizations that agree to the settlement.
If a new deal is not accepted, many people might start suing the Sackler family. A U.S. bankruptcy judge will likely decide on Friday if they will continue temporary rights for them until February.
The new agreement might end a lengthy legal battle about the impact of the opioid problem, which some experts believe started when OxyContin was released in 1996. Since then, opioids have been connected to hundreds of thousands of deaths in the U.S. Since 2020, over 70,000 deaths each year have been linked to illegal fentanyl, making this period the most deadly.
The Sackler family is seen as bad because of their involvement in their private company. Their name has been taken off art galleries and colleges worldwide. They keep saying they haven’t done anything wrong.
Family members are believed to be worth billions more than what they would pay in a deal. However, a lot of their wealth is in offshore accounts, making it likely difficult to reach through legal action.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a Democrat, stated that the deal will not lead to financial hardship for the family.
“This is about families affected by this crisis.” This is about a group of people and a family that are among the most infamous wrongdoers … “We are making sure they take responsibility,” he said.
Purdue sought bankruptcy protection in 2019 as it faced thousands of lawsuits over the opioid problem. Some claims say that the company told doctors that the risk of addiction to strong drugs was low.
In a filing from October 2024, one part of the family promised to defend themselves in any claims that proceed. They believe the main argument in the cases, claiming that Purdue and the Sackler family caused a “public nuisance,” has no real basis.
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