Purdue Pharma To Pay $200M To NY Over Opioid Epidemic

Introduction

Purdue Pharma will pay $200 million to New York State as a part of a $4.5 billion opioid settlement that includes drug treatment and prevention programs for the people affected by the opioid epidemic.

The settlement includes 15 other states seeking the claims against the company, but Purdue's bankruptcy reorganization plan where the company has agreed to pay the affected states resulted in the states giving up on the opposition.

The attorney general said that Purdue's owners, the Sackler family members, are mainly involved in fueling the opioid epidemic and have kept a low profile to prevent their image from getting thrashed in public. The attorney said that the family was aware of the epidemic. He further added that the owners should at least apologize to the people who lost their loved ones due to the opioid crisis.

The attorneys for the state said that shutting down the company is a better option as the Sackler family is wealthy enough to fight the legal battle that might go on for a long time. The attorneys even showed concern that the deal is pretty unfair, but it is required to help in funding the treatment of the affected people.

Apart from Purdue's $200 million settlement, Johnson & Johnson has also agreed to pay a $230 million settlement amount to treat drug-affected people and to ensure that no such epidemic spikes up in the future.

U.S. District Judge Dan Polster is overseeing the opioid MDL No. 2804, which was formed in October 2017. The former president of the U.S., Donald Trump, even declared a Public Health Emergency in 2017, as 72,000 Americans died due to the opioid epidemic.

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