Purdue Pharma to be sentenced, paving way for opioid settlement - Reuters

<a href="https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMixgFBVV95cUxNM1pCSHBST3RKYS1SRkJ3VjVJUWNnV3ZSS0cwdGpzNlZIMERPZkFFNUZqLWRfUHMxVm5nZTBsSUNFdzJyZ1hfN1RSOURLUWJSZkxMbmxYNkI3MTlneGhLN0tCM2E3NjZ6NjBKZVVYUkViYTRuQ0xEemNWTUJSTEZPLWJ4N21SbEpUTk1ZU3JycGZnNVozV2RXY0dQTW9veGkxRHJvc1lQWVJHY3FibDVJelUyTTdMM2ZPd1NDS0w1b2hQLWZ6Qnc?oc=5" target="_blank">Purdue Pharma to be sentenced, paving way for opioid settlement</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<font color="#6f6f6f">Reuters</font>

Purdue Pharma will be sentenced on Tuesday in New Jersey federal court for deceiving government regulators and paying kickbacks to doctors to boost opioid sales, completing a plea deal that clears the way for the company to dissolve in bankruptcy and use its assets to fund a $7.4 billion settlement intended to compensate people harmed by the opioid epidemic. The company agreed to $5.5 billion in criminal fines, most of which will go unpaid under a 2020 agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in which the agency will collect just $225 million. That deal allows Purdue to direct its remaining assets to repaying creditors, mostly state and local governments, which were left to deal with the cost and consequences of the opioid crisis in their communities. Purdue had been scheduled to be sentenced last week, but U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo postponed the hearing to allow greater public participation from people who wanted to speak up about the company’s marketing of its painkiller OxyContin and its role in fueling the opioid epidemic in the United States. Purdue’s bankruptcy case is coming to a close after more than six years in court, following a lengthy series of appeals which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The sentencing is one of the final hurdles before the bankruptcy settlement can proceed. Purdue said it remains on track to emerge from bankruptcy on May 1, ceasing its previous operations and emerging as a new nonprofit company that will make opioid addiction treatment and overdose reversal medicines. As part of the plea agreement, Purdue admitted to paying kickbacks to doctors to fuel OxyContin sales and to deceiving federal regulators about its efforts to prevent illegal drug use. No company executive or owner was charged as part of the latest criminal case. The company previously pleaded guilty to misbranding and fraud charges related to its marketing of OxyContin in 2007, admitting it falsely marketed OxyContin as less addictive, less subject to abuse, and less likely to cause withdrawal symptoms than rival pain medications.

A federal judge in Newark, New Jersey, is expected to deliver a criminal sentence to Purdue Pharma, marking the final step in a massive legal settlement that could lead to the company’s dissolution by the end of the week. The settlement resolves thousands of lawsuits attributed to Purdue’s role in the opioid crisis, which has caused over 900,000 deaths in the U.S. since 1999. Purdue pleaded guilty to not preventing the diversion of opioids to the black market and to bribing doctors to overprescribe. In a 2020 settlement, Purdue agreed to an $8.3 billion penalty, though only $225 million will be collected immediately. The settlement includes up to $7 billion over 15 years from the Sackler family, Purdue’s owners, much of which will fund government efforts to combat the opioid epidemic. Victims and families are divided; while some seek closure, others find the lack of individual accountability and relatively small payouts unjust. If approved, Purdue will be replaced with a new public-benefit entity, Knoa Pharma, and millions of company documents will be released. The Sacklers will also relinquish naming rights at cultural institutions.