THE PURDUE PHARMA SETTLEMENT
As a result of the various pill mills across the country and resulting deaths from OxyContin, Purdue Pharma was being targeted as the main aggressor in what would be viewed as a destructive opioid epidemic. But, years into this opioid epidemic, the damage had already been done. Although, the main culprit still needed to be held accountable. That main culprit was Purdue Pharma and the case would eventually be taken straight to Purdue Pharma. In late 2020, a federal judge approved a $8.3 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma after the company pleaded guilty to three felony counts of criminal wrongdoing, according to Brian Mann of npr.org. The Sackler family, the owners of Purdue Pharma, also agreed to forfeit roughly $225 million of their personal wealth.Additionally, Purdue Pharma agreed to pay roughly $3.5 billion in fines and $2 billion of past profits would be forfeited as a result of the settlement. The Sackler family eventually agreed to dissolve the company and create an organization that would work to combat the opioid epidemic. However, Schneider asserts
that the punishments levied on Purdue Pharma and the Sackler’s may have been too light. He asserts that Purdue Pharma played a major role in the opioid crisis by introducing OxyContin to the market. Furthermore, he also claims that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also bears some responsibility for approving the drug for distribution and labeling it as “non-addictive”. Schneider also points out that OxyContin was originally used for severe cancer pain until it began being prescribed for milder pains by more and more doctors. According to Schneider, Purdue Pharma made nearly $20 billion in profits directly related to OxyContin. Therefore, he believes that the $8 billion settlement was too little. Furthermore, he feels that punishing Purdue Pharma with bankruptcy was pointless and will do little to deter this from re-occurring. However, Schneider is pleased to see that big pharmaceutical companies are being punished for allowing the opioid crisis to grow. Finally, Purdue Pharma admitted that they were in the wrong.
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