Briefly Noted

Abstract

States are demanding $2.2 trillion from Purdue Pharma for its alleged role in the opioid epidemic, saying the company pushed doctors to prescribe OxyContin while downplaying the risks of addiction and overdose. The filings were reported by Reuters Aug. 17 and disclosed as part of Purdue's bankruptcy proceedings. If liquidated, Purdue is worth a little more than $2 billion. If the matter is settled, the company proposes to contribute more than $10 billion in addiction treatment medications and naloxone. The Sacklers would cede control of the company. “Those financial realities underscore that Purdue does not have enough money to satisfy the myriad claims against it,” the Reuters article concluded, noting that many states want more of the Sacklers' personal money. According to the states, prescription opioids directly caused more than 200,000 deaths in the United States between 1999 and 2016. More than 450,000 overdose deaths have taken place since 1999 — heroin and illicit fentanyl are chief reasons. There's nobody to sue for those illegal drug sales. Purdue, facing more than 2,600 lawsuits by cities, counties, states, hospitals, and others, filed for bankruptcy last year. The company and the Sackler family denied the allegations and pledged to provide treatment medications and naloxone. While Purdue says the biggest cause of overdose deaths is illicit fentanyl and heroin, the states say that most heroin users started with prescription opioids. In addition to the state claims, Purdue faces more than $18 billion in penalties from the U.S. Department of Justice, partly due to alleged false claims made to Medicare and Medicaid allowing doctors to write unnecessary prescriptions in return for kickbacks, according to the Reuters report, which cited “a person familiar with the matter.”