|
 The OxyContin maker last week kicked off its long-awaited bankruptcy
trial
https://www.reuters.com/legal/
transactional/purdue-pharma-bankruptcy-trial-begins-with-opponents-eyeing-sackler-shields-2021-08-11
over its plan
https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/
legaldocs/dgkplrrnypb/
126021698131-rep-1407114041.pdf to resolve thousands of claims
accusing it and the Sackler family of fueling the U.S. opioid
crisis.
Purdue and its Sackler family owners have denied wrongdoing in
connection with the lawsuits.
More than 500,000 Americans have died since 1999 from opioid
overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
David Sackler, a former Purdue director, made his statement during
the virtual trial in a White Plains, New York, bankruptcy court over
a $10 billion settlement that aims to resolve the lawsuits over
deceptive marketing.
Sackler said Purdue’s products have helped millions of people. But
he acknowledged that they had contributed to the opioid crisis and
said his family bears “a moral responsibility to help, and that’s
what this settlement is designed to do.”
The deal is supported by a wide range of states, municipalities,
hospitals and others, but faces opposition from nine states and the
U.S. Department of Justice’s bankruptcy watchdog, the U.S. Trustee.
[to top of second column] |
 The settlement includes
releases protecting the Sackler family members
that own Purdue against future opioid-related
litigation in exchange for a $4.5 billion
contribution to a trust that would distribute
funds to opioid abatement programs. Opponents of
the deal say the releases are too broad.
In response to questioning from U.S. Trustee attorney Benjamin
Higgins on Tuesday, Sackler said his family would not be willing to
contribute money "in this fashion" toward opioid abatement if the
bankruptcy court rejects the releases.
Sackler also said his family had not considered an amount of money
it would pay in exchange for narrower releases.
The trial is expected to last several more days. Sackler is the only
member of the family so far to testify.
Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty
https://www.justice.gov/
opa/pr/opioid-manufacturer-purdue-pharma-pleads-guilty-fraud-and-kickback-conspiracies
in November 2020 to fraud and kickback charges.
(Reporting by Maria Chutchian in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder
and Matthew Lewis)
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