Sackler family considers adding another $1bn for final OxyContin settlement

Purdue and other firms involved in the opioid industry face thousands of lawsuits alleging they helped create a crisis that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the US

States and local governments accuse Purdue of duping doctors and patients about OxyContin’s addictive properties and blame the Sacklers and the company for fueling a public-health crisis. 

Members of the billionaire Sackler family that own Purdue Pharma are weighing whether to add $1bn (€881m) to the OxyContin-maker’s faltering opioid settlement bid in an effort to win over holdouts, according to people familiar with the talks.

The move would bring the family’s total contribution to over $5.3bn to get a handful of state attorneys general to drop their opposition to Purdue’s bankruptcy plan, the people said.