Pennsylvania may receive up to $212 million over 15 years as part of a multi-state lawsuit settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, its owners, for their roles in the opioid overdose crisis.
Pennsylvania is among 15 states that will receive funds from the $7.4 billion settlement, but the terms still need to be approved, Attorney General Dave Sunday said Thursday. The money will be used to support addiction treatment, prevention and recovery programs.
MORE: New court in Kensington will serve as a pipeline to drug treatment, Mayor Parker says
Purdue Pharma manufacturers OxyContin, an opioid prescribed for pain relief. The drug can be addictive. In a statement, Sunday said Purdue's "deceptive marketing" created a dependency on the drug, and that Purdue and the Sacklers made more than $35 billion in profits from its distribution.
"No dollar amount could ever replace what has been lost due to the opioid epidemic, but this settlement will go a long way in bolstering treatment resources and helping Pennsylvanians achieve recovery," Sunday said.
The other states included in the settlement are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.
The settlement takes the place of a prior agreement that the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated in June, ruling that the company's bankruptcy's proceedings could not be used to shield the Sackler family from civil lawsuits filed against them.
In the new deal, the Sackler family agreed to pay $6.5 billion, with Purdue paying $900 million. The Sackler family also agreed to give up control of the company.
More than half of the money will be paid out within the first three years. In the first year, the Sackler family will pay $1.5 billion, with Purdue paying $900 million. The Sacklers will then make subsequent payments of $500 million after one year, $500 million after two years and $400 million after three years.
If the settlement is approved, more than 30 million documents related to the company and the Sackler family's opioid business would get released to the public, Sunday's office said. A board of trustees selected by the states would determine Purdue's future, and the company would be banned from lobbying or marketing opioids.
At present, it's unclear how much of those funds Philadelphia would receive.
The city is getting $200 million over 18 years from a 2023 settlement with Walmart, CVS and Walgreens for their involvement in the crisis. Last April, Walgreens was ordered to pay another $110 million over five years to the city in a separate lawsuit relating to the addiction crisis.