How does Purdue's settlement compare with other opioid manufacturers?
Purdue's two criminal pleas, its direct link to OxyContin and the Supreme Court ruling its bankruptcy produced distinguish it from Teva ($4.25bn), CVS ($5bn) and Walgreens ($5.7bn), whose settlements contained no criminal admissions.
Purdue is the most prominent opioid maker to be held to account, but not the only one. Teva, which sold branded fentanyl products and generic opioids, agreed to a nationwide settlement of up to $4.25 billion over 13 years, including up to $1.2 billion of its generic Narcan, without admitting wrongdoing. Mallinckrodt, the largest US generic opioid manufacturer, agreed to pay $1.6 billion into a trust, a figure later reduced through a second bankruptcy. Pharmacy chains also settled, including CVS for $5 billion and Walgreens for $5.7 billion.
What distinguishes Purdue is the combination of two criminal pleas, the direct link between its flagship product and the crisis, the scale of owner withdrawals, and the Supreme Court ruling its bankruptcy produced. Purdue's case has also shaped how other mass-tort bankruptcies are structured.