Drug distributor McKesson Corp. agreed to pay $37 million to resolve a lawsuit by the state of West Virginia seeking to hold the company responsible for contributing to the opioid epidemic, the state’s attorney general said.
U.S. President Donald Trump touted progress in the fight against opioid abuse and promised to hold drugmakers accountable for their part in the crisis, a day after his administration brought its first related criminal charges against a major drug distributor and company executives.
Purdue Pharma LP fraudulently transferred funds to members of the wealthy Sackler family who control the OxyContin maker despite knowing the company faced major liabilities that had made it already insolvent, New York’s attorney general alleged.
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP is exploring filing for bankruptcy to address potentially significant liabilities from roughly 2,000 lawsuits alleging the drug manufacturer contributed to the deadly opioid crisis sweeping the United States, people familiar with the matter said.
