Mass. families concerned about approval of Purdue Pharma opioid settlement

After more than six years of legal wrangling over pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma's culpability for its role in the opioid epidemic, a federal judge has formally approved a bankruptcy settlement to resolve thousands of claims against the company.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane approved the settlement Tuesday after three days of hearings last week. The settlement requires members of the Sackler family, Purdue's owners, to pay $7.4 billion to state and local governments and to the tens of thousands of people harmed by the company's painkiller OxyContin. It also stipulates that the Sacklers relinquish ownership of the company.

More than 80% of the settlement funds will go to state and local governments. The  remainder will go to those who directly suffered because of opioid addiction. Some Massachusetts residents said those directly affected are getting shortchanged by the deal and have to go through an onerous process to prove a loved one was prescribed a Purdue drug in order to share in the settlement.

Joanne Peterson, founder and executive director of the addiction support group Learn2Cope, said many people are still struggling after becoming addicted to opioids that Purdue aggressively marketed in the 1990s and 2000s, claiming they were not addictive. She also said dozens of Massachusetts residents are raising grandchildren and likely will not be able to share in the settlement if they can't prove that their child was prescribed a Purdue drug.

"Money isn't going to replace someone's life, but from what I've heard, they're not gonna get much," Peterson said. "I find it to be insulting to those families that lost somebody."

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell said the state is expected to receive up to $105 million over the next 15 years to support opioid treatment and recovery programs. She said the settlement "brings long-overdue accountability from the Sackler family."

"No amount of money will ever be enough to compensate for the lives lost or the unimaginable pain caused by the Sacklers’ actions, but the funds from this settlement will help ensure that critical resources reach our communities," Campbell said in a statement.

According to a state dashboard, Massachusetts has already received $91 million in opioid settlement funds from other companies that settled lawsuits over the prescribing and distributing of powerful narcotic painkillers that contributed to the epidemic.

Under the Purdue settlement, individuals who can prove that they or a loved one with addiction was prescribed a Purdue drug, the settlement could award them between $8,000 and $16,000. Those funds are to be distributed next year.

Cheryl Juaire, of Marlboro, who served on the unsecured creditors committee through the bankruptcy proceedings, said many Massachusetts residents may not be directly compensated, but she's confident that addiction treatment and prevention efforts will improve.

"Six years is a long time," Juaire said. "I'm glad it's over and I think the state will put the money to good use to help people."