CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A settlement involving OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma could be in effect by the end of the day Friday, including a provision to dissolve the company into one created to combat the opioid epidemic.
It was the pain killer OxyContin, commonly referred to as Oxy, that took hold in the Mountain State—particularly in southern West Virginia, creating addicts and causing loss of life.
There were pill mills and doctors and pharmacists who were convicted for prescribing the drug for no legitimate medical reason in exchange for money. Families were ruined and communities were changed. The company and its owners aggressively marketed their drugs and were blamed for turning the other way as the pills were dumped into states generating $35 billion in revenue.
West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey said it’s good riddance to Purdue Pharma.
“Watching these folks be held accountable for the disaster that they created and the human suffering that they caused and the misery that they intentionally inflicted on this state is gratifying in the very least,” McCuskey told MetroNews.
A federal judge approved a settlement between the federal government and Purdue Pharma in 2020. In some cases individuals will receive monetary damages in other cases its states. West Virginia is one of those. McCuskey said $55 million will come to the state as part of the final settlement.
“I hope that the families of the folks that have been affected by this see this as, in this instance at the very least, the government stepping up and doing something very strong and powerful,” McCuskey said.
The last $55 million coming to West Virginia, according to McCuskey, will be divided like other settlement funds have been with most of the money going to the West Virginia First Foundation for distribution to efforts established to battle the epidemic.
McCuskey described himself as “intensely hopeful” the money will help.
“That these funds can be used to truly repair the damage that was done and provide a more hopeful future for the folks who have survived this crisis as well as the young people in this state who continue to be affected by it,” McCuskey said.
The Sackler family, which owned the company, will pay $7 billion over the next 15 years as part of the settlement. None of them will face individual charges. McCuskey said he wished that wasn’t the case.
“As people they are putrid. As a company they were putrid. How do I feel about them not being held personally liable? I think it is ridiculous,” he said. “They are paying us with blood money that was derived from harming West Virginia citizens and so all of the complaining and the belly-aching that these people are espousing for having to pay us is disgusting.”
The new company is called Knoa Pharma.
The fight isn’t over
McCuskey was quick to point out West Virginia’s fight against those who played a role in opioid epidemic isn’t over. His office has a lawsuits ongoing against United Health and other pharmacy benefit managers who McCuskey said were “right in the middle of this with Purdue.”
“The PBMs played. as much, if not a larger part in the catastrophe that came from corporate greed. that came from a very unhuman understanding of the impact on lives.” McCuskey said. “The PBMs were presented with a fire. They had a blanket in one hand and a can of gasoline in the other and they chose to throw the gasoline.”