Virginia agrees to receive up to $103.8 million in opioid crisis settlement with Purdue Pharma, Sackler family

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Virginia joined all other states and some U.S. territories in agreeing to sign a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and members of the Sackler family who own the company for their part in creating and perpetuating the opioid crisis.

Virginia will receive as much as $103.8 million from this settlement over the next 15 years. According to a release from the Attorney General's Office, that funding will go toward local prevention, treatment and recovery efforts.

The settlement was orginally announced in January. In June 2024, a prior agreement had been invalidated by the Supreme Court for immunizing some members of the Sackler family from civil lawsuits in exchange for $6 billion.

In the 1990s, the company introduced a brand of oxycodone called OxyContin. According to Miyares' office, Purdue invented, manufactured and aggressively marketed opioid products for decades, “fueling waves of addiction and overdose deaths across the country.”

"The Sacklers spent years fueling an epidemic that shattered families, wrecked communities, and cost hundreds of thousands of American lives," said Attorney General Jason Miyares. "Though no amount of money will ever bring back those we’ve lost or undo the incomprehensible level of harm caused, these settlement funds will be invested in treatment, prevention, and recovery efforts across Virginia, helping our communities heal and saving lives."

Purdue reportedly filed for bankruptcy in 2019 after it was sued thousands of times.