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Report: Purdue Pharma nears final deal to resolve opioid cases with 22 states

Opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma LP has tentatively reached a settlement with 22 states to resolve lawsuits alleging the company's marketing practices contributed to the painkiller addiction crisis in the U.S., according to a report from The Washington Post.

The deal, which has been discussed for months, is said to be worth between $10 billion and $12 billion.

Along with attorneys general from each of the states, the settlement includes more than 2,000 cities and counties that have brought suit against the maker of the painkiller OxyContin.

Under the deal, the Stamford, Conn.-based company would declare bankruptcy and become a trust to help states overcome the epidemic. Bankruptcy proceedings could begin as early as next week, according to a report from Reuters.

The company's founders, the Sackler family, would also give up control of privately held Purdue, and $3 billion of their personal funds would go toward the settlement.

Purdue settled in March with the state of Oklahoma in another opioid lawsuit for $270 million. A judge there handed down a $572 million decision against Johnson & Johnson in August, a ruling the pharmaceutical giant plans to appeal.

Also involved in the nationwide lawsuits are fellow opioid makers Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Allergan PLC, Actavis Pharma Inc. and more.

Purdue is also reportedly in talks with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve an opioid probe.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said in a Sept. 11 post on Twitter that he is preparing to file suit against the Sackler family directly.

"I allege that they are among the most responsible for the death and destruction of the opioid crisis," Stein said on the social media site. "I will not stop fighting until I am assured that the Sacklers and Purdue will be held accountable."

Stein said he would not support the settlement and neither would other attorneys general unless the company "commits to cleaning up the mess I allege they helped create."