{"id":17726,"date":"2020-10-21T21:43:16","date_gmt":"2020-10-22T01:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=17726"},"modified":"2020-10-21T21:43:16","modified_gmt":"2020-10-22T01:43:16","slug":"purdue-pharma-to-plead-guilty-in-8bn-opioid-settlement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2020\/10\/21\/purdue-pharma-to-plead-guilty-in-8bn-opioid-settlement\/","title":{"rendered":"Purdue Pharma to plead guilty in $8bn opioid settlement"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p><b class=\"css-14iz86j-BoldText e5tfeyi0\">The maker of OxyContin painkillers has reached an $8.3bn (\u00a36.3bn) settlement and agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges to resolve a probe of its role in fuelling America&#8217;s opioid crisis.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Purdue Pharma will admit to enabling the supply of drugs &#8220;without legitimate medical purpose&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The deal with US Department of Justice resolves some of the most serious claims against the firm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>But it still faces thousands of cases brought by states and families.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Purdue called the deal an &#8220;essential&#8221; step to wider resolution of the matter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>&#8220;Purdue deeply regrets and accepts responsibility for the misconduct detailed by the Department of Justice,&#8221; said Steve Miller, who joined Purdue&#8217;s board as chairman in July 2018, shortly before the firm sought protection from the litigation by filing for bankruptcy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"unordered-list-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<div class=\"css-1pzprxn-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi3\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li><a class=\"css-yidnqd-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-49711618\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma files for bankruptcy<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"css-yidnqd-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-47660040\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Is this America&#8217;s most hated family?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The settlement with the DoJ must receive court approval to go forward.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The judge overseeing the bankruptcy case will be weighing how it will affect negotiations with other states and cities that have filed lawsuits against Purdue, many of which have already objected to the terms.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>They say it lets the company and its owners, the Sackler family, off too lightly for their roles creating a crisis that has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 Americans since 1999.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>&#8220;DoJ failed,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MassAGO\/status\/1318934203443052544\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said Massachusetts attorney general Maura Healey<\/a> after the settlement was announced.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>&#8220;Justice in this case requires exposing the truth and holding the perpetrators accountable, not rushing a settlement to beat an election. 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;<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Justice Department officials defended the deal as &#8220;significant&#8221;, noting that the department would forego much of the $8bn in fines, allowing the money to be directed to other creditors in the bankruptcy case &#8211; such as the communities ravaged by opioid abuse that have sued the company.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>They said they continue to review possible criminal charges against executives at the company and the Sackler family.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>&#8220;This resolution does not provide anybody with a pass on the criminal side,&#8221; Rachel Honig, federal prosecutor for New Jersey said at a press conference.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-72p885-ComponentWrapper-CrossheadComponentWrapper e1xue1i81\" data-component=\"crosshead-block\">\n<h2 class=\"css-1jlqpzd-StyledHeading e1fj1fc10\">What did Purdue do?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The settlement follows years of investigation into claims that Purdue and other drug-makers encouraged over-prescription of opioids, leading to overdoses and addiction which strained public health and policing resources in cities and towns across the US.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Under the terms of the settlement, Purdue will admit to conspiring to defraud the US and violating anti-kickback laws in its distribution of the addictive painkillers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Those included payments the firm made to healthcare companies and doctors to encourage prescribing the drugs, which were ultimately paid for by public health programmes.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-72p885-ComponentWrapper-CrossheadComponentWrapper e1xue1i81\" data-component=\"crosshead-block\">\n<h2 class=\"css-1jlqpzd-StyledHeading e1fj1fc10\">What will Purdue actually pay?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Purdue will pay $225m to the Justice Department and a further $1.7bn towards addressing claims made in other lawsuits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The settlement also includes a $3.54bn criminal fine and $2.8bn civil penalty, which will compete with other claims in bankruptcy court &#8211; such as those made by communities affected by the opioid crisis. It is unclear how much of that sum will actually be collected.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The Sackler family has also agreed to pay $225m and give up ownership of the firm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The company would reorganise as a new company run by a trust for the &#8220;public benefit&#8221;. It would continue to produce OxyContin and other drugs aimed at treating addiction, with the government likely having a significant role.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Purdue backed that idea in an earlier settlement proposal but it is opposed by many states, including Massachusetts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-72p885-ComponentWrapper-CrossheadComponentWrapper e1xue1i81\" data-component=\"crosshead-block\">\n<h2 class=\"css-1jlqpzd-StyledHeading e1fj1fc10\">What about the other claims?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>Along with the reorganisation as a &#8220;public benefit&#8221; firm, Purdue has proposed to settle the wider claims against it with a deal worth more than $10bn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>But critics of the plan want to see the company sold and greater effort made to recover money from the Sackler family.\u00a0<a class=\"css-yidnqd-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-50820392\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Court documents revealed last year<\/a>\u00a0that the family had transferred more than $10bn out of the company between 2008 and 2017, as scrutiny of its conduct increased.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>The Sackler family, which would commit $3bn to the wider settlement, said in a statement that members that had served on the Purdue board of directors had acted &#8220;ethically and lawfully&#8221; and that &#8220;all financial distributions were proper&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i82\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"css-83cqas-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi2\">\n<p>&#8220;We reached today&#8217;s agreement in order to facilitate a global resolution that directs substantial funding to communities in need, rather than to years of legal proceedings,&#8221; the family said.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-54636002\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-r83t2i-ComponentWrapper e1xue1i80\" data-component=\"social-embed-block\">\n<div data-component=\"include-html\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">The maker of OxyContin painkillers has reached an $8.3bn (\u00a36.3bn) settlement and agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges to resolve a probe of its role in fuelling America&#8217;s opioid crisis. Purdue Pharma will admit <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2020\/10\/21\/purdue-pharma-to-plead-guilty-in-8bn-opioid-settlement\/\" title=\"Purdue Pharma to plead guilty in $8bn opioid settlement\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[109,2,3],"tags":[6185,7394,7395,4974],"class_list":{"0":"post-17726","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headline","8":"category-news","9":"category-usa","10":"tag-opioids","11":"tag-oxycontin","12":"tag-purdue-pharma","13":"tag-us-department-of-justice","14":"pmpro-has-access"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17726"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17728,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17726\/revisions\/17728"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}