The three largest U.S. drug distributors, facing their first trial over claims that they fueled the opioid crisis, said responsibility for ballooning painkiller sales lies with doctors, drugmakers and regulators.
The U.S. Justice Department signaled support for legislation to extend by seven months a ban on illegal copycat versions of fentanyl, the powerful synthetic painkiller that has helped fuel the nation’s opioid epidemic.
Purdue Pharma LP filed a bankruptcy plan on March 15 that would resolve thousands of opioid lawsuits by restructuring the OxyContin maker into an entity that would steer profits to plaintiffs and require the company’s Sackler family owners to contribute nearly $4.3 billion to the settlement.
Purdue Pharma LP pleaded guilty to criminal charges over the handling of the company’s addictive prescription painkiller OxyContin, capping a deal with federal prosecutors to resolve an investigation into the drugmaker’s role in the U.S. opioid crisis.
A settlement valued at $8.34 billion was reached between Purdue Pharmaand the Justice Department, which required the drug company to plead guilty to three felonies related to its marketing and distribution of OxyContin, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The painkiller aspirin will be evaluated as a possible treatment for Covid-19 in one of Britain’s biggest trials, which will assess whether it might reduce the risk of blood clots in people with the disease.
McKesson Corp. said the company and two other major U.S. drug distributors could be expected to pay up to $21 billion under a new proposal by state attorneys general to resolve lawsuits alleging they helped fuel the U.S. opioid crisis.
Purdue Pharma LP agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges over the handling of the company’s addictive prescription opioid OxyContin, in a deal with U.S. prosecutors that effectively sidestepped paying billions of dollars in penalties and stopped short of criminally charging its executives or wealthy Sackler family owners.
New York state filed civil charges accusing Johnson & Johnson of insurance fraud for downplaying the risks of opioid painkillers, including to doctors and elderly patients.
U.S. states claimed they are owed $2.2 trillion to address harm from OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP’s alleged role in America’s opioid epidemic, accusing the drugmaker in new filings of pushing prescription painkillers on doctors and patients while playing down the risks of abuse and overdose.
