In a multi-billion dollar settlement, New York State stands to receive up to $250 million from Purdue Pharma and the family at the helm of the company, the Sacklers.

Purdue Pharma is behind the prescription drug Oxycontin, a highly addictive and lethal opioid.

“The Sackler family and their company Purdue, who helped spark the opioid crisis decades ago, for years have avoided accountability,” State Attorney General Letita James said.

On Thursday, James announced the family and the company have agreed to a $7.4 billion settlement.

The Sackler family will pay up to $6.5 billion over 15 years. Purdue Pharma will pay nearly $900 million.

“This will help communities heal from the devastating losses wrought by addition,” James said.

The settlement will go directly to communities across the country to support opioid addiction treatment, prevention, and recovery programs like StartCare NY.

“It doesn’t replace the life that was lost, but certainly it’s a beginning so that we can prevent others from going down this road,” StartCare NY CEO Jonnel Doris said.

The New York State Comptroller’s office says opioid-related deaths surged nearly 300% across the state from 2010 to 2020, and comprised 85% of all drug overdose deaths in the state in 2020.

“It is far-reaching. This is a lot more complicated work than sometimes, I think, it’s made out to be. It’s encompassing of the entire person, their families and the entire community. So, that’s what we’re really trying to rectify,” Doris said.

In a statement, Purdue Pharma says in part:

“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.”

This is the latest settlement after a previous one fell apart. In 2021, a $5.5 billion settlement was approved.

The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated that settlement, saying the Sackler family couldn’t be protected from future lawsuits.