OxyContin maker Purdue agrees to settle Oklahoma opioid case, source says
(Reuters) - Purdue Pharma LP has agreed to settle a lawsuit by the state of Oklahoma accusing the maker of painkiller OxyContin of helping fuel an opioid abuse epidemic, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The settlement is the first stemming from a wave of recent lawsuits over the drugmaker’s marketing of painkillers.
The settlement with Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter came just weeks before Purdue, owned by members of the wealthy Sackler family, faced the first trial stemming from about 2,000 lawsuits nationally against opioid manufacturers. The trial was to be televised.
Hunter’s 2017 lawsuit accused Purdue, Johnson & Johnson and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd of deceptive marketing that downplayed the risks of addiction associated with opioid pain drugs while overstating their benefits.
The companies deny wrongdoing and have sought to delay the May 28 trial to Sept. 16, citing the need to review records the state turned over that could be critical to their defense. The state has been seeking over $20 billion in damages.
Hunter scheduled a press conference for Tuesday to announce a “breaking development” in the lawsuit. A spokesman for Hunter declined to comment. A lawyer for Purdue did not respond to a request for comment.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-opioids-litigation/oxycontin-maker-purdue-agrees-to-settle-oklahoma-opioid-case-source-says-idUSKCN1R70CH?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews
article(reuters) out on possible settlement of Purdue case. Presser later today
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