OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP and its owners, the Sackler family, are in discussion to settle more than 2,000 lawsuits against the company for $10 billion to $12 billion, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Purdue is among several drug-makers and distributors that have been sued seeking to hold them responsible for fueling an opioid addiction crisis in the United States, which claimed 400,000 lives from 1999 to 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The lawsuits have accused the Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma of aggressively marketing prescription opioids while misleading prescribers and consumers about risks from their prolonged use. Purdue and the Sacklers have denied the allegations.