COLUMBUS, Ohio–(AVC News)–An agreement has been reached in a landmark case in the war against the U.S. Opioid crisis.
All 50 states and U.S. territories have agreed to a settlement with Purdue Pharma and its’ owners, totaling $7.48 billion, the largest settlement of its’ kind in the decades long opioid crisis.
In the 1990’s, Purdue released OxyContin, a powerful prescription painkiller. Initially, Purdue and the FDA believed the new drug, due to its’ extended release formulation, may have a lower abuse potential than other oxycodone medications on the market at the time. However, within ten years of its’ release, widespread reports of abuse surfaced. Depspite Purdue’s aggressive marketing campaign to control abuse, OxyContin became the most abused prescription opioid in the U.S., resulting in over 645,000 deaths in the U.S. since 1999.
The government eventually took action against Purdue, alleging that the company promoted unsafe and ineffective uses of the drug, leading to widespread opioid abuse. Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019 to settle lawsuits accusing it of downplaying the drug’s addictive nature.
According to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost states the agreement is “another major step towards accountability and recovery.” According to the Ohio A.G., communities nationwide will receive settlement funds over the next 15 years to support addiction treatment and prevention as well as recovery services. In Ohio, the state and local governments will receive up to $198 million from the agreement. Subject that final approval in bankruptcy court, the funds will be distributed according to the established OneOhio plan: 55% to the OneOhio Recovery Foundation, 30% to local governments, and 15% to the state.
Last Updated on April 22, 2026 by AVC News
