Judge to explain why he's approving Purdue Pharma settlement plan, which
calls for $7B from Sacklers
[November 18, 2025]
By GEOFF MULVIHILL
A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge is set to give his reasoning Tuesday for
approving OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's plan to settle thousands of
lawsuits over the toll of opioids.
The deal calls for members of the Sackler family who own the company to
pay up to $7 billion over time.
Judge Sean Lane said last week that he would accept the plan, which
ranks among the largest opioid settlements ever and would do something
other major ones don't: Pay some victims of the crisis.
Money will go to governments and some individuals
Sackler family members agreed to pay up to $7 billion over 15 years,
providing most of the cash involved in the settlement.
The funds distributed to state, local and Native Americans is to be used
mostly to address the opioid crisis, as has been the case with other
opioid settlements.
About $850 million of that is to go to individual victims, including
children born with opioid withdrawal.
People with addiction and survivors of those who died must prove they
were prescribed OxyContin to participate. Those who do could receive
payments of around $8,000 or around $16,000, depending on how long they
received the drug and how many other people qualify. The money for
individual victims is to be distributed next year.
Not only money is at stake
Members of the Sackler family are agreeing to give up ownership of
Purdue.
For them, that won't be a major change since no family member has served
on Purdue' board or received money from the company since 2018. The plan
calls for Purdue to be replaced with a new company, Knoa Pharma, to be
controlled by a board appointed by states and with a mission of
benefiting the public.
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Fake pill bottles with messages about OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma
are displayed during a protest outside the courthouse where the
bankruptcy of the company is taking place in White Plains, N.Y., on
Aug. 9, 2021. (AP foto/Seth Wenig, File)
 Sackler family members are also
agreeing not to have their name put on institutions in exchange for
contributions — something they've done often in the past, though
many institutions have cut ties with them.
The company has also agreed to make public a trove of internal
documents that could shed additional light into how the company
promoted and monitored opioids.
One feature that won't be repeated under this new deal that was in a
previous one: forcing members of the Sackler family to hear directly
from people harmed by OxyContin.
A long legal saga could be wrapping up
Purdue filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019 when it was facing
thousands of opioid-related lawsuits from state and local
governments and others.
A judge approved a settlement two years later. But the U.S. Supreme
Court later rejected that plan because it gave members of the
Sackler family protection from lawsuits over opioids even though
they were not personally declaring bankruptcy.
The latest plan allows lawsuits against Sackler family members by
those who don't opt into the deal.
This time through, few parties objected to the settlement, though
some people who represented themselves and who were addicted to
opioids — or had loved ones who were — raised concerns during the
three-day confirmation hearing last week.
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