All 50 states as well as Washington, D.C., and four U.S. territories have agreed to sign a $7.4 billion settlement with the company and once-prominent family behind OxyContin, officials announced Monday.
The settlement resolves pending litigation against Purdue Pharma, which, under the leadership of the Sackler families, invented, manufactured and aggressively marketed opioid products for decades, according to the lawsuits. States and cities across the country said it fueled waves of addiction and overdose deaths.
The attorneys general in 55 states and territories have signed on to the historic settlement, which they said will end the Sacklers’ ownership of Purdue and bar them from making, selling or marketing opioids in the U.S.
California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia led the team that negotiated the settlement, which marks the largest of its kind involving the opioid crisis, officials said.
“As Pennsylvania families and communities suffered during an unprecedented addiction crisis, Purdue and the Sacklers reaped the mammoth profits from their products,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a statement. “This monumental settlement achieves the top priority of getting as much money as quickly as possible to prevention, treatment, and recovery programs across the Commonwealth. My office will continue engagement with municipal leaders to ensure millions of dollars reach every corner of the state.”
In this Feb. 19, 2013, file photo, OxyContin pills are shown at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt.
Toby Talbot/AP, FILE
Purdue introduced OxyContin, a brand name of oxycodone, in the 1990s and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019 after the company was sued thousands of times.
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a prior settlement in June 2024 that would have awarded $6 billion to state and local governments.
The Sacklers and Purdue subsequently boosted their settlement contribution to $7.4 billion.
“Today’s announcement of unanimous support among the states and territories is a critical milestone towards confirming a Plan of Reorganization that will provide billions of dollars to compensate victims, abate the opioid crisis, and deliver opioid use disorder and overdose rescue medicines that will save American lives,” Purdue said in a statement on Monday. “We appreciate the extraordinarily hard work of the state attorneys general and our other creditors in getting us to this point, and we look forward to soliciting creditor votes on the Plan after the disclosure statement is approved.”
The $7.4 billion will support opioid addiction treatment, prevention and recovery programs over the next 15 years.
A significant amount of the funds will be distributed in the first three years, with the Sacklers paying $1.5 billion and Purdue paying approximately $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.
“There will never be enough justice, accountability or money to restore the families whose lives have been wrecked or to right the terrible consequences of the Sackler family’s craven misconduct,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in a statement on Monday. “What we announce today is both momentous and insufficient, the culmination of years of tumultuous negotiations and legal battles all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Now that the state sign-on period has ended, local governments across the country will be asked to join the settlement, contingent on bankruptcy court approval. A hearing on that matter is scheduled on Wednesday.
A board of trustees selected by participating states in consultation with other creditors will determine the future of Purdue, which will continue to be overseen by a monitor and will be prevented from lobbying or marketing opioids.
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
