The US Department of Justice (DoJ) announced that the drugmaker will pay settlements amounting to more than $8 billion along with ceasing to operate in its current form.

The penalties, said to be the largest ever levied against a pharmaceutical manufacturer, will go to opioid treatment and abatement programs.

Purdue has agreed to pay a fine of $3.5 billion as well as a forfeit of another $2 billion, in addition to the $2.8 billion to resolve civil liability.

As part of the agreement, Purdue will be dissolved and its assets used to create a new public benefit company (PBC), owned and controlled by a trust or similar entity. The DoJ said the PCB will function entirely in the public interest, delivering legitimate prescription drugs and aiming to donate or provide steep discounts for life-saving overdose rescue drugs and medically assisted treatment medications to communities.

The Justice Department also reached a separate civil agreement amounting to $225 million with the Sackler family, the former owners of Purdue. The Sacklers, as well as other current and former Purdue employees, could still face possible federal criminal charges.

“Purdue deeply regrets and accepts responsibility for the misconduct detailed by the Department of Justice,” said Purdue chairman Steve Miller, who joined Purdue's board in July 2018. “Purdue today is a very different company. We have made significant changes to our leadership, operations, governance, and oversight.”

The settlement with the DoJ remains subject to the approval of the bankruptcy court.

However, while the deal resolves some of the most serious claims against Purdue, the pharma firm still faces thousands of lawsuits brought by other US states and families, many of which have objected to the terms.

Several state attorneys said the settlement fails to deliver justice and has let Purdue and the Sackler family off the hook. “This settlement provides a mere mirage of justice for the victims of Purdue’s callous misconduct,” said Connecticut Attorney General William Tong. “The federal government had the power here to put the Sacklers in jail and they didn’t. Instead, they took fines and penalties that [Purdue] likely will never fully pay.”

Purdue is estimated to have made more than $35 billion from sales of OxyContin.

Last year, court documents revealed that the Sacklers had transferred more than $10 billion out of the company between 2008 and 2019 as scrutiny of Purdue’s conduct increased.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist