A MART脥NEZ, HOST:
State attorneys general have reached a new opioid settlement with Purdue Pharma. That's the company that makes OxyContin. The tentative deal is worth more than $7 billion. It includes the company's owners, members of the Sackler family. However, it does not give them immunity from future opioid lawsuits as the family had hoped. NPR addiction correspondent Brian Mann joins us. So Brian, an earlier deal approved by a federal bankruptcy court did grant the Sacklers immunity from opioid lawsuits. What happened here?
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Yeah, A, that agreement was really controversial, and it was eventually shot down last year by the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices ruled U.S. law just doesn't give bankruptcy courts the power to block lawsuits in the way the Sacklers wanted. That forced everyone back to the negotiating table. Under this new deal, the Sacklers and Purdue Pharma actually agreed to pay more - about $500 million more - than under the previous deal without getting that big firewall against future lawsuits.
MART脥NEZ: So why would they sign off, then?
MANN: Yeah. NPR asked the Sacklers for a statement about that. We haven't heard back. What we know is this agreement would settle all lawsuits against Purdue Pharma, and it would prevent most future lawsuits against the Sacklers. Here's what's interesting. The deal also sets aside up to $800 million for a legal fund that the Sacklers could use in the future if they're sued. And what that means, A, is the cost of any future opioid litigation against the Sacklers would be paid for not by the family but out of this opioid settlement fund. So they're not getting immunity from future lawsuits, but the Sacklers are still going to walk away with a lot of financial protection.
MART脥NEZ: OK. This story, it goes way back. So remind us why there's been so much of a focus on this company and this family.
MANN: Yeah, the opioid crisis, we all know it's been raging for a long time - started in the '90s, killed millions of Americans, really ravaged communities. And public health experts and government officials say it all began with this company, Purdue Pharma. The company falsely marketed this pain medication, OxyContin, as less addictive, less dangerous. In a statement yesterday, Connecticut's attorney general, Scott Tong (ph), accused the Sacklers of igniting one of the most devastating public health crises in American history. The Sacklers themselves have never been charged with any crime, but their company did eventually plead guilty to federal charges twice for deceptive marketing, while federal prescribing rules for pain pills have now been tightened. We're still caught up in this wider opioid crisis where drugs like OxyContin have given way to heroin and fentanyl.
MART脥NEZ: Is this settlement money, though, expected to help ease the crisis?
MANN: You know, state attorneys general who negotiated this deal say, yes, if the courts sign off, it will help. New York's state attorney general, Letitia James, said in a statement that this massive influx of funds will bring resources to communities so they can heal. Once finalized, this $7.4 billion would come on top of roughly $50 billion in opioid settlement cash already agreed to by other big companies that also got involved in the opioid pain pill business.
MART脥NEZ: Yeah. That's a lot of corporate settlement money you talked about there. I mean, is it being well spent?
MANN: Yeah, there's a debate underway about that. Critics say a lot of that money is being diverted, spent by local and state governments on things like law enforcement. But supporters of these deals say a lot of the money is starting to flow to pay for addiction treatment, counseling and housing. Public health experts say those resources might be one of the reasons drug overdose deaths from fentanyl are finally dropping.
MART脥NEZ: NPR addiction correspondent Brian Mann. Brian, thanks.
MANN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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