Opioid Crisis Made Pharma and Healthcare Giants Rich

Corporate Healthcare behemoths are attempting to sway Democratic legislation that would prohibit business owners from using bankruptcy to avoid personal responsibility and protect their fortunes. The bill was written to target the Sackler family, which controls Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, and has played a major role in the country’s opioid epidemic.

However, the bill may have far-reaching consequences for businesses suspected of fraud, which is why corporations like Johnson & Johnson and Tenet Healthcare are still advocating for it. Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019 in order to resolve thousands of cases stemming from its part in the drug crisis.

In exchange for being freed from any potential opioid litigation directly aimed against them, members of the Sackler family have decided to relinquish ownership of the corporation and pay nearly $4.2 billion to finance victim payouts as part of the ensuing bankruptcy talks. The deal, which includes just a few payouts, is expected to be finalised in August.

The possibility of a settlement has caused widespread outrage, as it would allow the Sackler family to keep billions of dollars in assets while avoiding having to admit wrongdoing. Last year, the family was estimated to be worth $10.8 billion. Since 1999, the opioid epidemic has claimed the lives of at least 450,000 people in the United States.

Empire of Pain, a new novel, and The Crime of the Century, a new HBO documentary, are all about the Sackler family’s link to the opioid epidemic. More than two dozen state attorneys general have shown interest in suing the Sacklers for their part in the drug crisis. The organisation filed a brief earlier this month calling the proposed settlement “unprecedented,” “unjust,” and “unconfirmable as a matter of law.”