End of OxyContin legal saga in sight as judge approves settlement deal

Jen Trejo holds a photo of her son Christopher outside the Supreme Court in Washington DC (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP)

A federal bankruptcy court judge on Friday said he will approve OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma’s latest deal to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids that includes some money for thousands of victims of the epidemic.

The deal overseen by US Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane would require members of the Sackler family who own the company to contribute up to 7.0 billion US dollars (£5.32 billion) and give up ownership.