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Report: Purdue Pharma pledges up to $12B to settle 2,000 opioid lawsuits

Purdue Pharma LP has offered to settle the more than 2,000 lawsuits filed against the company and its owners regarding the manufacturing of opioids for $10 billion to $12 billion, NBC News reported.

The privately held company, owned by the Sackler family, manufactures the powerful opioid painkiller OxyContin. Purdue, along with several other manufacturers and distributors of the drugs, is subject to litigation that alleges the companies used deceptive marketing techniques that have fueled the opioid epidemic.

According to NBC News, lawyers for Purdue Pharma were in Cleveland on Aug. 20 to discuss a potential deal to settle the matters. The company presented a plan to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy — which had previously been reported in March — and then restructure into a "for-profit public benefit trust."

Under the terms of the deal, Purdue would provide $4 billion in drugs to cities, counties and states, some of which would be those used to rescue patients from a drug overdose.

Profits from drug sales such as OxyContin, or the company's emergency opioid treatment Nalmefene, would go to the plaintiffs in the cases as well, NBC News reported.

Moreover, the Sackler family would give up ownership of the company and contribute at least $3 billion towards the settlement.

Should the settlement not be accepted, Purdue plans to continue with the bankruptcy filing, and any potential settlements thereafter would be lower than the current offer.

The news comes a day after a judge in Oklahoma handed down a $572 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson in the pharma giant's own opioid lawsuit.