Sacklers shut down Purdue with $10 billion opioid settlement

US drugmaker Purdue Pharma has filed for bankruptcy and announced an agreement in principle on a framework for settling the opioid litigation facing the company in the USA.

The settlement relates to cases filed by 24 state attorneys general, analogous officials from five US territories, the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the multidistrict litigation (MDL), and co-lead counsel in the MDL.

Purdue, the manufacturer of the opioid product Oxycontin (oxycodone) claims that the settlement structure will provide more than $10 billion to address the addiction crisis, saying that the Sackler families, who own the firm, will contribute all of its assets to a trust or other entity established for the benefit of claimants and the American people.