NY state to receive $200 million in massive 15-state settlement agreement with Purdue Pharma over opioid epidemic

New York State will receive at least $200 million from Purdue Pharma for drug treatment and prevention programs as part of a massive $4.5 billion settlement between the disgraced OxyContin maker and 15 states, Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday.

The participating states agreed to drop their opposition to Purdue’s bankruptcy reorganization plan after negotiations where the company signed off on the payout and the public release of millions of damning internal documents, including once-privileged emails between lawyers and Purdue’s owners in the Sackler family.

James, joined by fellow attorneys general Keith Ellison of Minnesota and Maura Healey of Massachusetts, said the transparency was a key part of the deal.

“They hid behind their attorneys,” said James. “They lawyered up. They were quiet. They were silent. And they acted as if they were innocent, when in reality we all know their hands were dirty. The reality is the Sackler family should at least, at a minimum, apologize to all of those who lost loved ones.

“Can the Sacklers do more? Hell yeah, they can do a lot better. But they should first begin with an apology.”

All three top state law enforcers, while acknowledging the deal was not perfect, said the settlement was important to help fund treatment now and close the company’s doors rather than engage in a prolonged legal battle with the deep-pocketed Sacklers. Purdue will be out of business within three years, the officials said

“It’s important to note that as a result of our collective efforts, through dogged discovery, through depositions across continents, negotiations, we’ve obtained more money more quickly (and) an extraordinary robust document repository,” said James. “And most importantly, shutting down Purdue’s doors forever.”

The $200 million, along with a recent $230 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson, will be used statewide for drug treatment and efforts to insure a similar type of pharmaceutical epidemic does not occur, James said. The attorney general noted Purdue’s legal “delay tactics” influenced the decision to strike a deal sooner rather than later.

“We are delivering $4.5 billion into communities ravaged by opioids on an accelerated timetable,” James said. “And it gets one of the nation’s most harmful drug dealers out of the business, once and for all.”

The Sacklers also agreed to relinquish control of family foundations with $175 million in assets to the trustees of a planned National Opioid Abatement Trust.

A statement issued by the Sackler family stressed the deal did not include any concession of liability or wrongdoing.

“This resolution to the mediation is an important step toward providing substantial resources for people and communities at large,” the statement read. “The Sackler family hopes these funds will help achieve that goal.”