US states oppose ‘unjust’ plan to shield Sackler wealth in opioid settlement

Twenty-four states object to bankruptcy proposal for Sacklers to settle lawsuits by paying $4.3bn but family would keep about $7bn

Nearly half of US states have joined growing opposition to a highly unusual bankruptcy plan that would protect the wealth of the Sackler family after it made billions of dollars from selling the drug that kickstarted the US opioid epidemic.

Attorney generals of 24 states, members of Congress, municipalities and victims families object to the proposal for the Sacklers to forfeit ownership of Purdue Pharma, manufacturer of the powerful prescription painkiller OxyContin, and surrender part of their immense fortune in return for immunity from further litigation over their part in a drug epidemic that has claimed more than 500,000 lives.