The Sackler Family will pull out of Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy plan, which has been negotiated for two years and pledges $4.5 billion to combat the opioid epidemic, unless they are granted immunity from future opioid lawsuits, David Sackler, former board member, said in court Aug. 17.
Under the bankruptcy plan, the Sackler family, who founded and owns Purdue Pharma, would pay at least $4.5 billion of their personal fortune over nine years, as well as $255 million from a separate civil settlement with the Justice Department. Neither Purdue Pharma nor the Sacklers would admit to any wrongdoing in the settlements, and the bankruptcy plan would resolve thousands of lawsuits against both parties.
A majority of Purdue Pharma's more than 120,000 creditors have voted to approve the plan.
Mr. Sackler said that his family will require "a release that is sufficient to get our goals accomplished." He also said they will fight opioid cases "to their final outcomes" if the plan does not grant them immunity from future opioid lawsuits, according to The New York Times.