Purdue Pharma Shuts Down, Sacklers Pay $7.4B

0:00Purdue Farma, the maker of OxyContin, is shutting down for good this Friday as part of a massive settlement from thousands of opioid lawsuits. They're getting replaced by a new outfit called NOAA Farma, running the public interest to tackle the crisis. The deal guarantees at least $7.4 billion, with most of that, over $6.5 billion coming straight from the Sackler family. Who owned the company? This comes after more than 900,000 opioid overdose deaths in the US, since 1999, starting with prescription pills like OxyContin, then shifting to heroin, and now mostly fentanyl. The Sackler's already pocketed $10.7 billion from Purdue, between 2008 and 2018, but they've given up all. Control and won't give personal immunity from future suits. Folks are mixed on it. Some see it as justice after the Supreme Court shot down an earlier version last year, where five justices said the Sacklers, couldn't hide behind bankruptcy. No family members faced criminal charges despite a big Justice Department probe, just the company pleading guilty.

1:05Meanwhile, the new board for NOAA includes heavy hitters like Rahul Gupta from the White House Drug Office and Paul Rothman from Johns Hopkins. On the bigger picture, opioid settlements since 2019 total, about $57.8 billion from drug makers, wholesalers, and pharmacies, all aimed at fighting the epidemic, produced kicking in 30 million documents to go public at universities like UC. San Francisco and victims or their families could get up to $16,000 each, the first direct payouts from these deals. Payments roll out over 15 years, heaviest up front, so states and communities can start rebuilding now. This chapter closes Purdue's run, but keeps the pressure on to end the overdose nightmare for good. That's your Canada News today update, AI-powered, and always on.