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A6 U.S. NEWS
Monday 9 SepteMber 2019

Purdue Pharma says settlement talks in opioid cases not over

By GEOFF MULVIHILL they “expect Purdue to file
Associated Press for bankruptcy protection
OxyContin maker Purdue imminently.” A representa-
Pharma and lawyers repre- tive for the family declined
senting local governments to comment on the email,
both said Sunday that which was obtained by The
they’re interested in con- Associated Press.
tinuing negotiations to set- Purdue has said for months
tle lawsuits over the toll of that it wants to reach a
the opioid crisis a day after deal that would settle all
two state attorneys gen- state and local govern-
eral told colleagues that ment claims against it, but
their talks with the compa- it also has threatened to file
ny were at an impasse and for bankruptcy protection.
that they expected the Bankruptcy would mark a
company to file imminently major shift in the multidis-
for bankruptcy. trict litigation being over-
The statements add an- seen by a federal judge in
other layer of uncertainty Cleveland.
to attempts to strike a deal It would likely take Pur-
with a company that’s por- due out of the first federal
trayed as a prime villain in trial over the opioid crisis,
the national opioid crisis. scheduled to start Oct. 21.
In a statement, the com- If the company opts for
pany said, “negotiations bankruptcy, a judge would
continue and we remain In this Friday, Aug. 17, 2018, file photo, Christine Gagnon of Southington, Conn., protests with have a lot of say over how
dedicated to a resolution other family and friends who have lost loved ones to OxyContin and opioid overdoses at Purdue to divide Purdue’s assets.
that genuinely advances Pharma LLP headquarters in Stamford, Conn. Gagnon lost her son Michael 13 months earlier. The value of the private
the public interest.” Associated Press company, already rela-
The company said it is pre- gotiations are now taking resolution of our clients’ which have been linked to tively low, could continue
pared to defend itself in place. Earlier in the day, claims against Purdue and more than 400,000 deaths dropping, leaving little to
litigation, but that “Purdue Paul Hanly, a lead lawyer the Sacklers, whether with in the U.S. over the last two split among thousands of
Pharma believes a settle- for the group of local gov- or without the states and decades. plaintiffs. The company
ment that benefits the ernments, unions, hospitals within or without bankrupt- The suits cast Stamford, also could go out of busi-
American public now is a and others suing the drug cy court.” Connecticut-based Pur- ness. That’s a big change
far better path than years industry in federal court, A bankruptcy filing, if it due as a particular villain, from settlement propos-
of wasteful litigation and said in a statement that happens, could change saying the company’s mar- als that would have kept
appeals.” any breakdown in talks the landscape instantly for keting of its drugs down- the company operating in
A company spokeswoman didn’t represent his group a complicated series of played addiction risks and some form.
declined to answer further of clients. lawsuits. led to more widespread Under one proposal, gov-
questions about whether Those plaintiffs, he said, “It seems that there will be opioid prescribing, even ernments could have seen
and with whom any ne- “will continue to explore little money for plaintiffs, if though only a sliver of the $10 billion to $12 billion over
Purdue takes bankruptcy opioid painkillers sold in the time, including at least $3
and the Sacklers are not U.S. were its products. billion from the Sacklers as
kicking in any money for On Saturday, two state at- part of a deal that would
settlement,” said Carl To- torneys general leading have Purdue into a “struc-
bias, a professor at the Uni- settlement negotiations tured bankruptcy.”
versity of Richmond School with the company — Ten- Pennsylvania Attorney
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panies in the drug indus- leagues saying talks were the deal would have been
try over the toll of opioids, at an impasse and that worth that much.q