Richmond advocates celebrate $7 billion Purdue Pharma opioid settlement
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Richmond advocates are celebrating the monumental opioid settlement reached with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma on Friday.
On Friday, Nov. 14, a federal bankruptcy court judge approved a settlement agreement in which Purdue Pharma, maker of the opioid OxyContin, will have to contribute up to $7 billion over a period of 15 years, according to the Associated Press.
About $850 million of this settlement will go directly to individuals harmed by Purdue's products, with those dollars to be paid out in 2026, the AP reported. About 139,000 people have active claims. If about half of them ultimately qualify for compensation, that shakes out to an expected $8,000 to $16,000 a person, depending on the length of their prescriptions.
Over the years, Purdue has been hit with trillions of dollars in lawsuits related to its production of opioids like OxyContin. This culminated in the company applying for bankruptcy protection.
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The lawyer representing Purdue, Marshall Huebner, told Judge Sean Lane that he wished he could "conjure up $40 trillion or $100 trillion to compensate those who have suffered unfathomable loss," per the AP -- but in the absence of that, this settlement "does the greatest good for the greatest number in the shortest available timeframe."
Jill Cichowicz, founder of the Richmond-based nonprofit 2 End The Stigma, told 8News that this settlement is a major victory. She has been raising awareness about the dangers of opioids and related drugs since her brother, Scott Zebrowski, died as a result of fentanyl poisoning in 2017.
(Photo: Jill Cichowicz/2 End the Stigma)
(Photo: Jill Cichowicz/2 End the Stigma)
Cichowicz's advocacy led her to New York for this case, where 2 End The Stigma participated in the negotiations. She was there Friday when this historic settlement was reached.
"This is a monumental day," she told 8News. "I just landed in Richmond. I have tears streaming down my face."
The settlement included several other conditions. This includes that the Sackler family must give up ownership of Purdue and they will be barred from getting involved in any company -- American or otherwise -- that sells opioids. The AP reported that Purdue Pharma will also get a new name: Knoa Pharma.
Also on Friday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin and his first lady, Suzanne Youngkin, celebrated a significant reduction in fentanyl-involved overdoses in Virginia. Currently, these deaths are down nearly 59% when compared to January 2022, the governor's office said.
America's opioid crisis has resulted in 900,000 deaths since 1999, per the AP. While many companies have been taken to court over this crisis, this Purdue settlement is one of the largest that has been reached so far.
