Proposed Purdue Pharma Settlement Could Be Funded By Selling Opioids

UPDATE: The proposed settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma would raise money to clean up the opioid mess by selling more opioids.

That would amount to blood money, in the opinion of some critics. And it's one reason two dozen states have rejected the settlement.

The proposed settlement could be worth $10 billion or more over time. The company is making a case for it in bankruptcy court as a way to end some 2,600 lawsuits, most of them from state, local and tribal governments seeking to hold the company accountable for an opioid crisis that has claimed 400,000 lives in the U.S. in the last two decades.

Under the deal, a reformed version of the company could keep selling the drug, with profits helping fund the settlement.

(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Original Story: OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma has filed for bankruptcy protection.

But that doesn't mean the company or the family that owns it is off the legal hook.

States are divided on whether to accept a tentative settlement with the company as part of the bankruptcy.

Several of those who have declined it have made it clear that they plan to object to the bankruptcy and push forward with their claims against members of the Sackler family in state court.

It will be up to a bankruptcy judge to decide if those suits can move ahead. And even if he stops them, he could consider their claims in his court.

The bankruptcy filing Sunday will likely get Purdue out of a trial over the toll of opioids scheduled for October in Cleveland.

(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press.  All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)