New York, US (EFE).- A United States bankruptcy judge said Friday he will approve a settlement requiring Purdue Pharma to pay over 7 billion dollars to victims of the opioid epidemic, marking one of the largest resolutions in the decades-long litigation over the company’s role in fueling nationwide addiction.
According to a court filing by Judge Sean H. Lane of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, evidence and arguments presented by plaintiffs meet the requirements for the court “to enter a confirmation order” approving the agreement.
Under the settlement, Purdue must pay up to 7.4 billion dollars to resolve thousands of lawsuits accusing the drugmaker of misleading the public by aggressively marketing OxyContin as a non-addictive painkiller.
The earliest lawsuits date back more than 20 years and describe Purdue’s tactics as the spark of an addiction crisis that remains one of the US’ gravest public-health emergencies.
Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019 to manage the mounting litigation tied to widespread OxyContin prescriptions.
The deal, originally proposed in January but pending court confirmation, will distribute funds to participating states, local governments, victims, and others who previously sued Purdue or its owners, the Sackler family.
According to The New York Times, Purdue will make an immediate payment of 900 million dollars and then dissolve, reemerging as a public-benefit corporation named Knoa Pharma.
During Friday’s hearing, Purdue’s attorneys indicated that payouts to victims could begin as early as March or April.
The reorganized company will manufacture limited quantities of opioid painkillers and will also produce medications to reverse overdoses linked to these drugs, the NYT reported.
Victims, many of them family members of people harmed or killed by opioid addiction, will be eligible for compensation upon submitting proof that their injuries resulted from a Purdue opioid product. EFE
us/seo/dgp
