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Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family that controls it have agreed to pay up to $7.4bn (£6bn) to settle claims related to its powerful painkiller OxyContin.
The deal represents an increase of more than $1bn in previous settlements which was rejected in 2024 by the US Supreme Courtaccording to news agencies AP and Reuters.
Under the deal, the Sacklers agreed to pay up to $6.5bn and Purdue to pay $900m.
Oxycontin, which is often a precursor to narcotic drugs like heroin, is accused of fueling the opioid crisis in America, making billions of dollars for the Sackler family.
“We are very pleased that a new agreement has been reached that will provide billions of dollars to compensate victims, end the opioid crisis, and provide life-saving drug and addiction treatment,” Purdue said in a statement.
The deal still needs court approval, and some details need to be worked out, but the AP says it’s one of the largest deals reached by local, state, federal and U.S. governments and others who want companies to be responsible. to the deadly plague.
Under President Donald Trump, the federal government is not expected to oppose the new agreement, according to the AP.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong told Reuters the settlement would help bring closure to victims of the opioid crisis.
“It’s not just about money,” Tong said. “There’s not enough money in the world to make it happen.”
Since 1999, a few years after the drug was discovered, opioid overdose deaths have risen into the tens of thousands per year.
Court documents say the Sackler family was already aware of the legal risks, and shelled out $11bn to the company a decade earlier. He stashed large sums of money abroad, while using it to pay corporate taxes, which made recovery difficult.
