The U.S. Supreme Court is set on Monday to hear arguments over the legality of a roughly $6 billion bankruptcy settlement involving Purdue Pharma, maker of the powerful and highly addictive pain medication OxyContin that played a key role in the country's opioid epidemic.
If the justices allow the deal to proceed, it could lead to billions of dollars being poured into addiction-treatment and other relief efforts. The settlement also would shield the Stamford, Connecticut-based pharmaceutical company's wealthy Sackler family owners from lawsuits brought by opioid victims.
Here is an explanation of the settlement and its consequences.
HOW WOULD THE SETTLEMENT HELP PEOPLE AFFECTED BY OPIOIDS?
An opioid epidemic has caused more than a half million U.S. overdose deaths over a period spanning more than two decades. Purdue introduced OxyContin in 1996, and marketed and promoted it aggressively. OxyContin helped kickstart the epidemic, various plaintiffs have argued in thousands of lawsuits against Purdue. The litigation prompted Purdue in 2019 to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to address its debts.
Purdue reached a bankruptcy settlement with creditors, including various state attorneys general, local governments and the U.S. Justice Department's criminal and civil divisions. Under the deal, Purdue would transform into a nonprofit and dedicate its assets to addressing the harms of opioid addiction in the United States.
A U.S. bankruptcy court approved that restructuring plan in 2021. It was revised in 2022 to include more money from the Sacklers after the attorneys general of eight states and the District of Columbia successfully appealed the bankruptcy court approval.
The revised deal is supported by all financial stakeholders in the case, including all state attorneys general, but is opposed by the Justice Department's bankruptcy watchdog and some individual opioid plaintiffs.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.