Purdue Pharma Archives - Tennessee Star

Virginia Expects $60 Million in Tentative Opioid Crisis Settlement with Walmart

November 17, 2022November 16, 2022 Eric Burk

Virginia is expected to receive $60 million as part of a tentative $3.1 billion settlement agreement with Walmart after allegations of insufficient oversight of opioid dispensing at the chain’s pharmacies.

“Companies who facilitated the dispensing of opioids contributed to the opioid epidemic that has devastated millions of lives. This significant settlement will help us fight back against the epidemic and provide abatement and rehabilitation resources to suffering Virginians,” Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a press release.

Tennessee Star Supreme Court Justice Series: Major Opinions by Justice Sharon Lee

July 27, 2022July 26, 2022 Peter D'Abrosca

As Tennesseans prepare to head to the polls on August 4, where they will vote on whether to retain the state’s five Supreme Court justices, The Tennessee Star has completed a profile on each justice currently sitting on the bench.

Last week, The Star profiled Justice Sharon Lee.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong Announces Historic Settlement with Purdue Pharma

March 7, 2022March 6, 2022 Cooper Moran

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong on Thursday announced an historic settlement that will force members of the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma to pay out $6 billion for their role in the opioid epidemic.

The drug company, which distributed OxyContin, must be “dissolved or sold by 2024 and [ban] the Sacklers from the opioid business in the United States.”

Addiction-Based Mental Health Crisis Still Getting Worse in Virginia

November 8, 2021November 7, 2021 Eric Burk

During the beginning of COVID-19, hospital inpatient volume and emergency department visits decreased, in part due to people postponing treatment. But the same data showed an increase in the number of patients getting treatment for alcohol, drug use, and related mental disorders, the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association (VHHA) reported in April. In a Friday press conference, VHHA Vice President of Data and Analytics David Vaamonde reported that increased treatment for those kinds of disorders continued into the first two quarters of 2021 — one of only two Major Diagnostic Categories (MDCs) that saw growth since the beginning of the pandemic.

“We’re looking at MDCs where volumes actually increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have alcohol and drug use, and drug induced organic mental health disorders, obviously a very concerning trend there, and then diseases and disorders of the respiratory system and infectious and parasitic diseases,” Vaamonde said, adding that the respiratory, infectious, and parasitic categories line up with what a COVID-19 patient would have.

Former Head of OxyContin Giant Purdue Pharma Denies Fault or Blame in Opioid Crisis

August 23, 2021August 22, 2021 Admin

The former president and board chair of Purdue Pharma testified in court on Wednesday that he, his family and the company are not at fault for the opioid crisis, CBS News reported.

Richard Sackler, 76, who is a member of the family that owns the OxyContin maker, denied responsibility at a White Plains, New York, bankruptcy hearing, CBS News reported.

Attorney General Ellison Announces $50 Million Settlement with Purdue Pharma

July 12, 2021July 11, 2021 The Center Square

Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Minnesota will get $50 million from the settlement of the state’s lawsuit against the Sackler family’s company Purdue Pharma, which manufactured the opioid drug Oxycontin that contributed to the deadly opioid crisis nationwide.

The resolution will make public more than 30 million documents related to Purdue’s role in the opioid crisis and require the Sacklers to pay $4.3 billion for prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts in communities across the country.

Minnesota’s share of those payments is expected to exceed $50 million over nine years, the spending of which will be overseen by the State’s Opioid Epidemic Response Advisory Council.

15 States Reach Agreement, Pave Way for $4.5 Billion Settlement over Opioid Crisis

July 11, 2021July 10, 2021 Admin

Spilled pill bottle with lid beside bottle

A coalition of 15 states agreed to a deal with drug maker Purdue Pharma, which could soon lead to a $4.5 billion settlement over the company’s role in the U.S. opioid epidemic.

The states agreed to no longer oppose Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy plan while the pharmaceutical company agreed to publicly release a trove of millions of documents, according to a court filing late Wednesday night. The Sackler family, which owns the company, would pay an additional $50 million under the settlement.

The agreement will be tacked onto a broader proposal that is set to be voted on by more than 3,000 plaintiffs, The New York Times reported. In addition to the states, plaintiffs include cities, counties and tribes that sued the company over its role in boosting its painkiller OxyContin, the cause of thousands of opioid deaths.

2020 Was Record Year for Fatal Drug Overdoses in Virginia

April 29, 2021April 28, 2021 Eric Burk

Virginia had another record year for fatal drug overdoses in 2020. In 2019, Virginia had a record 1,627 fatal drug overdoses, but in 2020 that number spiked by 41.2 percent to 2,297, fueled by fentanyl overdoses, according to a fourth-quarter report from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).

“The pandemic exacerbated drug deaths and last I checked, something like 40-plus states reported big increases in overdose deaths since the pandemic began,” VDH Statewide Forensic Epidemiologist Kathrin Hobron told The Virginia Star.

Fairfax ‘Pill Mill’ Doctor Gets Seven Years

December 4, 2020December 3, 2020 Eric Burk

U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema sentenced Fairfax doctor Felicia Donald to seven years in prison for operating a “pill mill” at For Women OB/GYN Associates and NOVA Addiction Center. According to a Department of Justice press release, from April 2016 to April 2020 Donald distributed over $1.2 million worth of oxycodone and other controlled substances. Donald pled guilty on May 4, 2020.

OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma to Plead to Three Criminal Charges

October 22, 2020October 21, 2020 The Associated Press

Purdue Pharma, the company that makes OxyContin, the powerful prescription painkiller that experts say helped touch off an opioid epidemic, will plead guilty to three federal criminal charges as part of a settlement of more than $8 billion, Justice Department officials announced Wednesday.

The company will plead guilty to three counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and violating federal anti-kickback laws, the officials said. The resolution will be detailed in a bankruptcy court filing in federal court.

Report: Purdue Pharma and Sackler Family Offer $12 Billion to Settle Opioids Lawsuit

August 29, 2019August 28, 2019 Admin

Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, reportedly offered between $10 billion and $12 billion to settle lawsuits over its role in the opioid crisis, during a meeting with at least 10 state attorneys general last week.

Maker of OxyContin Agrees to $270M Settlement in Oklahoma

March 28, 2019March 27, 2019 Admin

The maker of OxyContin and the company’s controlling family agreed Tuesday to pay a groundbreaking $270 million to Oklahoma to settle allegations they helped create the nation’s deadly opioid crisis with their aggressive marketing of the powerful painkiller. It is the first settlement to come out of the recent coast-to-coast…

New Info About Opioid-Profiteering Family Pushes Largest Museum in US to Rethink Gift Acceptance Policies

January 20, 2019January 19, 2019 Admin

by Evie Fordham The Metropolitan Museum of Art is reviewing its gift acceptance policies after information that members of a prominent donor family headed a deceit campaign to push the highly addictive prescription opioid OxyContin, The Met told The Daily Caller News Foundation. Other New York City art museums…