Ever since the company introduced the drug in 1996, Purdue Pharma worked aggressively to promote the overprescription of OxyContin, the driving cause of the prescription opioid epidemic. During that time, Purdue's infamous owners the Sackler family, made more than $10 billion from opioid sales alone. Now, they've won "global peace", or immunity from any liability for the opioid epidemic, thanks to Federal Judge Robert Drain.
"This is a bitter result," Drain told reporters. "I believe that at least some of the Sackler parties have liability for those [opioid] claims. ... I would have expected a higher settlement."
Despite any reservations he may have had, Drain did approve the settlement agreement. Protestors gathered outside the courthouse carrying banners with Drain's face plastered across them with the words "Judge Drain's morally bankrupt Bankruptcy Court... Who needs accountability when you've got cold, hard cash?"
After years of pushing doctors to prescribe their drugs "without legitimate medical purpose", Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, pled guilty to criminal charges first in 2007 and again in October of last year when the company pled guilty to criminal charges resulting in an $8.3 billion settlement. The company is currently working its way through bankruptcy court in White Plains, NY, in an effort to settle the claims from state governments, addicts, and their loved ones.
The bankruptcy agreement immunity also covers hundreds of Sackler associates, their companies, and their trusts, though the Judge did restrict the immunity coverage somewhat. Some consultants and advisors will not be protected, and suits can still be filed against the family regarding most non-opioid claims. The family will also still be subject to any applicable criminal charges.
In exchange for immunity, the Sacklers have agreed to give up ownership of Purdue Pharma and to pay $4.3 billion towards the settlement. After the pay-off, the Sackler family will still have between $6.7 and $9.7 billion dollars left over, depending on the source.
"While we dispute the allegations that have been made about our family, we have embraced this path in order to help combat a serious and complex public health crisis," representatives for Mortimer Sackler told NPR.
The Sacklers will also be avoiding giving an apology for any role they may have played in the Purdue Pharma scheme.
"A forced apology is not really an apology," Judge Drain said. "So we will have to live without one."
The Sacklers maintain that they did nothing wrong or illegal.
Meanwhile, critics of the settlement say that allowing the Sacklers to avoid liability is a miscarriage of justice.
"I've never seen any such abuse of justice," Nan Goldin, a leading opioid activist told NPR about the settlement. "It's shocking. It's really shocking. I've been deeply depressed and horrified."
A bankruptcy watchdog within the Justice Department, the U.S. Trustee Program, has announced that it will be seeking a stay of the Judge's order after appeals have been resolved. Lawmakers have also joined activists in their criticism of the bankruptcy settlement, specifically citing the liability waiver for the Sacklers.
"This order is insulting to victims of the opioid epidemic who had no voice in these proceedings - and must be appealed," Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson wrote on Twitter
Attorneys general for nine states and the District of Columbia along with the Justice Department spent the two weeks leading up to his decision urging Judge Drain to reject the immunity provision.
Prior to the Judge's approval, it was discovered that Purdue Pharma and its legal team had drafted a letter meant to appear as though it is from the victims of the opioid epidemic pressuring the DOJ not to challenge Purdue's bankruptcy agreement.
"We collectively speak for the overwhelming majority of the state and local governments, organizations, and individuals harmed by Purdue and the Sacklers," the letter, written by Purdue, states.
The letter was sent out to groups working to support the agreement and does not mention that it was created by the drug company.
It's important to note that Purdue Pharma, not the Sacklers, is named in the bankruptcy filing. The Sacklers haven't filed for bankruptcy protection, leading critics to argue they shouldn't be awarded protections through Purdue's settlement. Critics say victims and governments deserve the right to sue the Sacklers for alleged harm related to the opioid epidemic.
"Due process requires that those with litigation claims have reasonable opportunity to be heard," DOJ attorney Paul Schwatzberg argued during the trial.
Meanwhile, Purdue and Sackler advocates argue that the immunity agreement will prevent thousands of individual lawsuits from being filed against the family, which they contest is a good thing, ostensibly due to the strain these suits would cause to the justice system. Judge Drain seemed to agree with this view, according to NPR.
"Instead of years of value-destructive litigation, including between and among creditors, this plan ensures that billions of dollars will be devoted to helping people and communities who have been hurt by the opioid crisis," the chair of Purdue Pharma's board of directors, Steve Miller, told NPR.
Proponents of the agreement who aren't representative of Purdue or the Sacklers say that it's simply the best option available. Despite disapproval over the liability waivers, most state and local governments supported the recently approved agreement thanks to the $5 billion worth of funds it puts towards public trusts for drug treatment and healthcare programs.
After the bankruptcy process is settled, Purdue Pharma will still be allowed to manufacture and sell opioids like OxyContin but will be operated as a public trust corporation with opioid profits going towards drug treatment.
