Arizona to receive $108 million in Purdue, Sackler opioid settlement

PHOENIX – Arizona is expected to receive about $108.2 million under a newly effective $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, Attorney General Kris Mayes announced Friday.

The settlement caps nearly a decade of investigations and litigation over Purdue Pharma’s role in the opioid crisis.

The nationwide settlement resolves claims against Purdue and the Sacklers over the production and aggressive marketing of opioids and will send money to communities, victims and other claimants.

How will the Purdue settlement money be used?

State officials said Arizona’s share will help fund addiction treatment, prevention and recovery efforts.

“These settlement dollars can never undo the damage done to countless Arizona families because of the Sacklers’ deception and reckless disregard for the health and safety of our communities,” Mayes said in a news release.

The agreement, joined by attorneys general representing all eligible states and territories, permanently bars the Sacklers from selling opioids in the United States.

The Sacklers are paying more than $1.5 billion immediately, followed by additional payments through 2029, while Purdue is paying about $900 million upfront.

Most of the settlement money will be distributed in the first three years.

Arizona has now secured $1.194 billion in total opioid settlement funds, according to the attorney general’s office.

The settlement also transfers Purdue’s manufacturing operations to Knoa Pharma LLC, which will be run by a board with no prior connection to Purdue. The company will be barred from marketing opioids.

Purdue Pharma permanently ceased operations Friday, according to a banner on the drugmaker’s website.

Purdue and the Sacklers also must make public more than 30 million documents related to their opioid business.

Related

Overdose deaths rise by 16% in Arizona as they decline in most of USOxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's settlement, by the numbersArizona erases more than $1 billion in medical debt for nearly 671,000 residentsArizona joins 22-state lawsuit to block federal insurance rule that would gut ACA protectionsAbrazo Arizona Heart Hospital expands capacity to meet Arizona’s growing heart care demandMaricopa County drives nation-leading West Nile virus outbreak with 47 cases, 5 deaths