OXYCONTIN manufacturer, Purdue Pharma, has filed for bankruptcy after agreeing to settle claims relating to its promotion of opioids, for US$10 billion, last week.
The Washington Post reported the company used "aggressive, allegedly misleading sales tactics to push physicians to prescribe millions of doses" of its medication, fuelling the US's opioid epidemic.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg has reported the decision to declare bankruptcy was designed to "short-circuit more than 2,000 lawsuits against Purdue and its owners, the billionaire Sackler family".
Company officials reported the cost of dealing with the opioid suits had made bankruptcy inevitable, with Purdue spending more than US$250 million on legal fees in the first eight months of 2019 alone.
Under a plan set out by Purdue, the Sacklers had agreed to pay US$3 billion as part of a settlement, which would be funded through the sale of its Mundipharma business.
The Sackler family has been accused of "funnelling" at least US$1 billion offshore, to 33 financial institutions.
A spokesperson for the family said, "it is our hope the bankruptcy reorganisation process that is now underway will end our ownership of Purdue and ensure its assets are dedicated for the public benefit".
The move followed Johnson & Johnson being fined US$572 million by the Cleveland District Court for its role in the opioid epidemic.
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