State Attorney General Ashley Moody announced this week that she has secured additional funding for Florida communities plagued by the national opioid crisis.
Purdue Pharma filed its bankruptcy plan worth approximately $7 billion that will place the full value of the company into a trust set up to allocate the funds toward opioid abatement efforts nationwide. More than $4.275 billion of the $7 billion represented in the plan will come from the Sackler family, who will also lose their entire stake in the company as part of the terms—effectively removing them from any involvement in U.S. opioid sales.
“As we continue to fight the pervasive opioid epidemic, I am pleased to announce that we have secured additional monies—now more than $4 billion—to help fund critical resources for communities struggling from this devastation. Although we cannot reverse the damage that this epidemic has inflicted, these life-saving funds will now be available early next year, and strict measures are now in place going forward to prevent the insidious and harmful marketing of opioids,” Moody said on Tuesday.
Moody’s office served on the Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Ad Hoc Committee—an 18-member committee consisting of states, counties, cities and territories—that led negotiations and discovery on behalf of the thousands of communities across the country impacted by the opioid crisis. State and local governments are projected to receive more than $4.5 billion under the proposed bankruptcy plan. This filing represents a significant step toward providing crucial recovery resources nationwide for those damaged by the opioid crisis that has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The states will collectively continue negotiating with the debtor to finalize terms that are most beneficial for all states and their local communities to maximize the needed abatement funds.
The plan is under consideration before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York with Judge Robert Drain presiding. Purdue Pharma’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding is separate from ongoing federal and state opioid litigation.
