<p class="p1"><span class="s1">OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma reached an $8.3 billion settlement this week with the US Department of Justice regarding its role in fueling the opioid epidemic. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">As part of the settlement, Purdue will admit that it enabled the supply of addictive painkillers “without legitimate medical purpose,” conspired to defraud the United States, violated anti-kickback laws when distributing its products, and misled the DEA about its program to prevent drug diversion. </span></p>
<p><span class="s1">Purdue Pharma’s owners &#8211; the Sackler family &#8211; have agreed to pay an additional $225 million and to relinquish ownership of the company. If the settlement receives court approval, Purdue will be dissolved and reestablished as a </span><span class="s1">public benefit company with future earnings going towards fines/penalties and opioid treatment and abatement programs. </span></p>
<p>The public benefit company will be controlled by the federal government and will be allowed to continue <span class="s1">producing OxyContin and other drugs, including medication to treat opioid addiction. </span><span class="s1">In the meantime, DOJ officials are considering possible criminal charges against Purdue executive as well as the Sackler family.</span></p>
<p><strong>The pharmaceutical company also faces thousands of <span class="s1">additional lawsuits brought by states and families. And many of them don&#8217;t approve of the settlement. </span></strong></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Justice in this case requires exposing the truth and holding the perpetrators accountable, not rushing a settlement to beat an election,” argues Massachusetts attorney general Maura Healey. “I am not done with Purdue and the Sacklers, and I will never sell out the families who have been calling for justice for so long.&#8221;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><em><span class="s1">I agree. While $8 billion will be the largest sum ever paid by a pharmaceutical company, it is nothing compared to the cost state and local governments have had to pay in dealing with the opioid epidemic. </span></em></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Did you know: </b></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Drug overdose is a leading cause of injury-related death in the United States. Overdose deaths involving prescription meds and illicit opioids kill 128 people every day. </span><span class="s1">The number of drug overdose deaths in the US increased by 300% from 1999 to 2018. Of the 67,300 overdose deaths in 2018, nearly 70% involved an opioid. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The opioid epidemic was sparked by drugmakers (including Purdue) who bribed </span><span class="s1">doctors to prescribe their products and vastly downplayed the risk of addiction. </span><span class="s1">When patients became addicted to OxyContin but could no longer get a prescription, they turned to even more dangerous drugs like heroin or fentanyl. Since 1999, the opioid epidemic has claimed more than 470,000 American lives. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><em><span class="s1">“If it was sold for severe pain only from the beginning, none of this would have happened,” says Ed Bisch, whose son died of a drug overdose at age 18. “But they got greedy.”</span></em></p>
<p><strong>Sources: </strong></p>
<p class="p1"><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54636002"><span class="s1">Purdue Pharma to plead guilty in $8bn opioid settlement </span></a></p>
<p class="p1"><a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-business-criminal-investigations-opioids-epidemics-5f0679ffee14577b1696a94b64abc9c2"><span class="s1">OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma to plea to 3 criminal charges </span></a></p>
<p class="p1"><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/21/business/purdue-pharma-guilty-plea/index.html"><span class="s1">OxyContin maker to plea guilty to federal criminal charges, pay $8 billion and will close the company</span></a></p>