Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
- Utah is expected to join a $7.4 billion national opioid settlement with Purdue Pharma, receiving $57 million.
- The settlement aims to address the opioid crisis, with funds supporting treatment and prevention efforts in Utah communities.
- Utah Attorney General Derek Brown and Gov. Spencer Cox emphasize accountability for Purdue's alleged role in the epidemic, impacting thousands of Utahns.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is expected to join a settlement with Purdue Pharma, makers of OxyContin, that will resolve thousands of lawsuits alleging that the pain medication caused a widespread opioid addiction crisis in the U.S.
The proposed agreement totals $7.4 billion from the Sackler family and their former company, Purdue Pharma. The Utah Attorney General's Office and the state Department of Commerce's Division of Consumer Protection are looking into joining the settlement and would likely receive $57 million of the settlement.
"It really starts with the Sacklers," Utah Department of Commerce executive director Margaret Busse told KSL.com. "Those were the folks that were making the decisions that, frankly, out of their greed, wanted to sell as many opioids as possible, and wanted to overcome any guard rails that might have been put in place for folks that would be susceptible to addiction."
"This is just huge ... I think the big takeaway is that families from the thousands of people in Utah and hundreds of thousands of people across the country who have died from opioid abuse are finally seeing some justice," Busse said.
"Too many Utahns have been harmed by the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma's disregard for human life," Utah Attorney General Derek Brown said in a news release. "After I have reviewed the final written settlement, I anticipate Utah will join it, thereby ensuring that Utah families see the justice they deserve, and will encourage other states to do so as well."
The money from this and other settlements would go to resources to be used by the state and local communities to mitigate the impact of the opioid epidemic on Utahns, the attorney general's office said.
While the opioid crisis starts with the Sacklers, Utah's Consumer Protection Division director Katie Hass told KSL.com the state has targeted players all the way down the line. "All these other perpetrators down the chain, because of the profits involved, turned a blind eye to the bad behavior," Hass said.
According to Busse, the state has "had actions against Purdue Pharma itself. We've had actions against many of the manufacturers, the pharmacies involved ... even a consulting firm, McKenzie, that helped give the strategy of how to sell more opioids. So all along the value chain, Utah, along with other states, has been taking action, and so far Utah has seen settlements of hundreds of millions of dollars."
The Division of Consumer Protection filed an administrative action against Purdue Pharma and Richard and Kathe Sackler in 2019, "sort of an unusual way to do it," Busse said, which allowed Utah to issue the first order finding personal jurisdiction over the Sacklers outside of their home state.
"We were able to get jurisdiction over them early on," Hass said, "which a lot of states weren't able to do ... and bring a quick action against them personally for their involvement."
"We had a hook," according to Busse, by linking the Sacklers' business dealings to Utah in many ways, including "thousands of personal visits between ... sales representatives and Utah prescribers in their medical offices," promotional materials distributed across the state, "conferences available to Utah prescribers, dinner programs held in Utah for Utah prescribers, guidelines for doctors," the order says.
The agency alleged the company knew OxyContin had a high risk of addiction and hid that information from consumers while marketing it as less prone to abuse than other painkillers.
"That action sought to hold Purdue accountable for its aggressive and deceptive marketing campaign that fueled a deadly growth of opioid prescriptions nationwide and in Utah," the attorney general's office said in the release. This settlement would resolve the action, according to Busse.
Between 2002 and 2015, the number of opioid prescriptions dispensed in Utah increased by more than 1 million. From 2013 to 2015, Utah was ranked seventh in the country for prescription drug poisoning deaths.
The attorney general's office said Purdue Pharma gave almost $200,000 to Utah prescribers between 2013 and 2017.
"The opioid epidemic has ravaged families and communities across Utah, leaving a trail of heartbreak and loss. Too many lives have been stolen, and too many families have been shattered," said Gov. Spencer Cox in the release.
Prescription opioids led to the deaths of 1,611 Utahns between 2014 and 2019, according to data from the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner. The Utah Department of Health and Human Services reported 606 drug overdose deaths in 2023, almost 28% of which involved at least one prescription opioid, and many others from heroin or fentanyl overdose that began from prescription opioid abuse.
"This settlement will not bring back those we've lost, but it will provide critical resources to help those struggling with addiction and prevent future tragedies. We are committed to using these funds to support treatment, prevention and education efforts and to build a brighter, healthier future for all Utahns," Cox said.
The resolution was secured by the attorneys general of more than 15 states. This recent settlement would be in addition to the $540 million Utah will receive from other settlements that have already been agreed upon, the attorney general said.
"What was so bad about this was that the assumptions involved and the money involved — it sort of encouraged nobody to really put guard rails up, because the profits were so great," Busse said. "That's just so sad to me that we lose our moral guard rails like that, these companies deliberately let those down in the name of profits, and because everyone else was doing it.
Over the next 15 years, the Sackler family will pay $6.5 billion, with around $900 million from Purdue Pharma when it emerges from bankruptcy protection. As part of the settlement, Purdue Pharma will have limited ability to lobby and market.
The settlement also dictates the Sacklers' control of Purdue Pharma will end, and they are restricted from selling opioids in the United States.
