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New York state could receive as much as $250 million to combat the opioid overdose epidemic under a $7.4 billion national settlement announced Wednesday with Purdue Pharma and members of the Sackler family that owns the OxyContin manufacturer.
The settlement, which still needs final approval, requires the funds to be paid out over 15 years. It also ends the Sacklers' control of Purdue and prohibits them from selling opioids in the United States, according to an announcement on the deal from New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The agreement, which caps years of bankruptcy litigation against Purdue and the Sacklers, would be the largest opioid settlement to date. It must now be presented to the other states and municipalities involved in the litigation, which can choose to opt out if they wish to continue their claims separately.
The U.S. Supreme Court threw out a previous $6 billion settlement deal that would have protected the Sacklers against future litigation. The current deal doesn't offer the same protection, James noted.
Fourteen other states were involved in securing the settlement, according to the announcement.
"Families throughout New York and across the nation are suffering from the immense pain and loss wrought by the opioid crisis," James said in a statement on the settlement. "The Sackler family relentlessly pursued profit at the expense of vulnerable patients, and played a critical role in starting and fueling the opioid epidemic."
James added that the money from the settlement would go to addiction treatment, prevention and recovery programs.
"We are extremely pleased that a new agreement has been reached that will deliver billions of dollars to compensate victims, abate the opioid crisis, and deliver treatment and overdose rescue medicines that will save lives," Purdue said in a statement.
"We have worked intensely with our creditors for months in mediation, and we are now focused on finalizing the details of a new Plan of Reorganization, which we look forward to presenting to the bankruptcy court," Purdue said.
Purdue played a pivotal role in marketing prescription opioids for pain and encouraging doctors to prescribe them, which contributed to rising rates of opioid addiction and overdose deaths. Nationwide, more than 80,000 people died from opioid overdoses last year, although the culprit has now largely shifted from prescription opioids to illicit synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
With these new funds, James has so far helped to secure more than $3 billion for the state from opioid settlements with pharmaceutical companies. About $154 million has gone to New York City, the mayor's office said in September, adding that the funding pool is expected to grow to $500 million by 2040.
"Through settlement funding, our organization has already received resources to stand up new comprehensive outpatient programs," said Jonnel Doris, CEO of New York City-based addiction treatment organization Start Care, at a press conference on the settlement. "With additional settlement dollars, organizations like Start Care can effectively enhance their service offerings."
While the city and state have shared some information about where their funds are going, some advocates seeking to help drug users say they want to see more evidence that the communities affected the most by the opioid crisis are being prioritized, and that the dollars are helping to improve outcomes.
City data shows overdose deaths dipped slightly last year overall -- in line with a national trend -- but there was little progress in the hardest-hit areas in the Bronx and Harlem. The disproportionately high death rate among Black New Yorkers remained relatively unchanged.
"We don't want to hear that the money is getting out fast if we can't also hear where it's going, and at this stage, what impact it's having at all," said Tracie Gardner, executive director of the National Black Harm Reduction Network and a member of the state's Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board.
So far, the opioid settlement dollars being distributed by New York City have flowed into three distinct buckets, according to reports from city officials and records shared with Gothamist as the result of a Freedom of Information request.
That includes programs operated by NYC Health and Hospitals that are designed to direct people with opioid use disorder into treatment; the nonprofit OnPoint NYC, which operates overdose prevention centers in Washington Heights and Harlem; and a program within the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner that refers the family members of people who die of an overdose to services.
The City Council will hold an oversight hearing on the distribution of opioid settlement dollars on Tuesday, Jan. 28.