OxyContin is an opioid medication used as a painkiller, which has been largely manufactured by Purdue Pharma. The company had been held responsible for creating a national opioid crisis in the USA. As per the recent developments, the company has agreed to plead guilty to the federal charges (criminal) issued against them. In addition to this, Purdue Pharma will be paying more than $8 billion and ultimately close down the company.

The fine it has to pay is $3.5 billion with an additional amount of $2 billion as part of its previous profits, and $2.8 billion in civil liability claims. All the money shall be used for the opioid treatment programs and moderation programs.

Since Purdue Pharma does not have $8 billion at present to pay, the company shall be dissolved and the money from it will be used to construct a new public benefit company which would be managed by a trust or another public organization for the benefit of all American citizens, as explained by the Justice Department. It further added that the money will not be used to make any profits or maximization of the new company but for paying off the due penalties on Purdue pharma, and to manage the fallouts from the opioid crisis.

The new company will be responsible for the production of OxyContin but will also be used to deal with opioid overdose issues. The initiative aims to save the lives of drug overdose patients and provide them with the best possible medication treatment.

However, there are several firms and state attorneys who are against this decision of involving government in the sales and production of OxyContin. Around 25 such state attorneys have written a letter to the Justice Department expressing their views and indicating the interest of an anonymous private firm interested in buying Purdue Pharma.

Apart from the present owners, the department has also given a $225 million civil statement to the previous owners of Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family who might soon face federal criminal charges. As per the documents, the Sackler family had withdrawn a hefty amount of $10 billion from the company and put it in their family trust money, when the company was facing criminal charges for initiating the opioid crisis in the country.

However, a statement issued by the spokesperson for the Sackler family said, “Members of the Sackler family who served on Purdue’s board of directors acted ethically and lawfully, and the upcoming release of company documents will prove that fact in details. This history of Purdue will also demonstrate that all financial distributions were proper.”

The author is a student member of Amity Centre of Happiness.