STAMFORD, Conn — Connecticut-based OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's plan to reorganize into an entity whose profits will be used to combat the U.S. opioid crisis got a big boost as 15 states have dropped their objections to the new business model.
The agreement from state attorneys general was disclosed in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing late Wednesday.
It includes those who had most aggressively opposed Purdue’s original settlement proposal.
To win the support, the company agreed to make more documents public and members of the Sackler family who owns it will kick in more money. But the owners have not admitted wrongdoing.
Connecticut has not opted into the settlement.
“Connecticut continues to strongly oppose this plan. While some progress has been made—especially around the public document depository—this plan is far from justice. Purdue and the Sacklers have misused this bankruptcy to protect their vast wealth and evade consequences for their callous misconduct," said Attorney General Tong. "This deal alarmingly allows the Sacklers to still walk away with their personal wealth intact, and now allows funds already intended for charity to be included this deal. We are evaluating all options to continue to fight this bankruptcy plan until all viable options are exhausted. We need to take a hard look at our bankruptcy laws and our system of justice that allows the Sacklers to walk away clinging to their jewelry, art and vacation homes while the victims of their depraved schemes continue to suffer and grieve."
Purdue Pharma, which helped revolutionize the prescription painkiller business with its OxyContin, is proposed a $10 billion plan to emerge from bankruptcy that calls for it to be transformed into a different kind of company funneling profits into the fight against the nation's intractable opioid crisis.
Those efforts would include a significant boost — more than $4 billion — from members of the Sackler family who own the Connecticut-based pharmaceutical giant.
The plan filed back in March in U.S Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y., after months of negotiations, marked the company's formal offer to settle more than 2,900 lawsuits from state and local governments, Native American tribes, hospitals and other entities.
“The Sacklers became billionaires by causing a national tragedy. Now they’re trying to get away with it," Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said at the time in a statement. "We’re going to keep fighting for the accountability that families all across this country deserve.”
Most of Purdue’s plan is similar to what the company proposed a year and a half ago when it first sought bankruptcy protection, a move that halted lawsuits against both the company and Sackler family members, who would continue to be insulated from legal claims under the plan.
In its proposal, the company said the Sackler family members would contribute nearly $4.3 billion over a decade, the company would kick in $500 million upfront, and its sales would generate another $1 billion through the end of 2024, when the plan is to sell or otherwise transform the company again. It says additional money would come from insurance claims.
Purdue said it will also provide overdose antidotes and anti-addiction drugs that would have a value of more than $4 billion.
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