Purdue Pharma dissolved following opioid crisis legal settlement

Purdue Pharma, the maker of the opioid painkiller OxyContin, is being dissolved and replaced by a new company focused on addressing the opioid crisis.

This development follows a federal judge's approval of a criminal sentence that resolves thousands of lawsuits against the company.

The sentencing marks the final step in a legal process involving the US Department of Justice investigation into Purdue Pharma.

The company admitted to failing to prevent the diversion of its prescription opioids to the black market and acknowledged paying doctors to prescribe the drugs through a speakers program.

It also paid an electronic medical records company to encourage more opioid prescriptions.

The settlement includes $8.3 billion in fines, forfeitures, and penalties.

However, the federal government agreed to collect only $225 million as part of a separate settlement resolving thousands of lawsuits from state, local, and Native American tribal governments, among others.

Purdue's guilty plea did not include restitution payments to victims.

The opioid crisis has been linked to over 900,000 deaths in the United States since 1999, making this legal resolution a significant moment in efforts to address the epidemic.

Victims and their families have expressed dissatisfaction with the settlement, arguing that it does not provide adequate justice or accountability.

Following the sentencing, relatives of opioid overdose victims gathered outside a federal court in Newark, New Jersey, holding photos of loved ones and symbolic gravestones.

They criticized the outcome and called for stronger consequences for those responsible for the crisis.

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