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7h ago

Purdue Pharma Settlement Plan Advances to Vote as B.C. Intensifies Opioid Lawsuits

Stakeholders will vote by September 30 on a $7.5 billion deal requiring the Sackler family to relinquish control, banning their future opioid sales.

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FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2018, file photo, family and friends who have lost loved ones to OxyContin and opioid overdoses leave pill bottles in protest outside the headquarters of Purdue Pharma, which is owned by the Sackler family, in Stamford, Conn. Purdue and state, local and Native American tribal governments across the U.S. agreed to settle lawsuits over the toll of opioids more than a year ago, but the money isn't flowing yet because of a wait for a key court ruling. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)

Overview

  • Fifty-five U.S. states and territories agreed to a $7.5 billion settlement that forces the Sackler family to give up control of Purdue Pharma and bars them from selling prescription opioids.
  • U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane approved procedures for local governments, individual victims and other groups to receive information and cast ballots on the deal by September 30.
  • More than $850 million of the settlement could go directly to individual claimants, with the bulk of funds earmarked for state and local addiction treatment and overdose prevention programs.
  • British Columbia’s attorney general secured a Supreme Court certification for class-action lawsuits against McKinsey & Company and other opioid manufacturers on behalf of Canadian provinces and territories.
  • Experts urge that recovered settlement funds be dedicated to opioid remediation services, and B.C. plans to mandate that its legal recoveries support health-care and community addiction programs.