Purdue and Sackler family agree $7.4bn OxyContin settlement

Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family that controls it have agreed to pay up to $7.4bn (£6bn) to settle claims relating to the powerful painkiller OxyContin.

The deal represents an increase of more than $1 billion over the previous settlement Which the US Supreme Court rejected in 2024According to news agencies AP and Reuters.

Under the terms of the settlement, the Sacklers agreed to pay up to $6.5 billion and Purdue agreed to pay $900 million.

OxyContin, often a gateway to stronger drugs like heroin, has been blamed for fueling America’s deadly opioid crisis and has generated billions of dollars for the Sackler family.

“We are very pleased to have reached a new agreement that will provide billions of dollars to compensate victims, alleviate the opioid crisis, and provide treatment and overdose relief medications that will save lives,” Purdue said in a statement.

The deal still needs court approval, and some details have not yet been ironed out, but the AP says it is among the largest settlements reached in a series of lawsuits by local and state governments, Native American tribal governments and others seeking to charge the companies. Responsibility for the deadly epidemic.

Under President Donald Trump, the federal government is not expected to oppose the new deal, according to the Associated Press.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong told Reuters that the settlement would help bring closure to victims of the opioid crisis.

“It’s not just about the money,” Tong said. “There’s not enough money in the world to fix it.”

Since 1999, just a few years after the drug became available, opioid overdose deaths have risen to the tens of thousands annually.

Court filings allege that the Sacklers were aware of the legal risks long ago, and withdrew about $11 billion from the company in the decade before its bankruptcy. They stashed a lot of money offshore, while using some of it to pay corporate taxes, making it difficult to recover it.