Purdue Pharma Reaches Agreement With U.S. Department of Justice

Business Wire
21 Oct by Vitaliy Dadalyan

Purdue Pharma Reaches Agreement With U.S. Department of Justice

– Agreement resolves DOJ investigations into past marketing practices

– Settlement funds primarily directed to state, local and tribal governments for opioid crisis abatement purposes

– Agreement brings Purdue closer to its ultimate goal of delivering more than $10 billion in value to address the opioid crisis

STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Purdue Pharma L.P. (“Purdue”) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve multi-year civil and criminal investigations into the company’s past marketing practices related to its opioid medicines.

With the agreement, Purdue accepts responsibility for specified misconduct that took place before June 2017 and resolves allegations regarding conduct between 2007 and February 2018 by pleading guilty and agreeing to pay fines and forfeiture. Importantly, the overwhelming majority of these settlement funds will be directed to state, local and tribal governments to address the opioid crisis.

“Purdue deeply regrets and accepts responsibility for the misconduct detailed by the Department of Justice in the agreed statement of facts,” said Steve Miller, who joined Purdue’s Board as Chairman in July 2018.

“Resolving the DOJ investigations is an essential step in our bankruptcy process,” said Mr. Miller. “The settlement agreement will pave the way for Purdue to submit a plan of reorganization to the bankruptcy court that will transfer all of Purdue’s assets to a public benefit company, and ultimately deliver more than $10 billion in value to claimants and communities.”

The new company will be operated under different ownership, will be overseen by new trustees for the benefit of claimants and the American people, and will work to provide for free or at cost millions of doses of lifesaving opioid addiction treatment and overdose reversal medicines.

“Purdue today is a very different company,” said Mr. Miller. “We have made significant changes to our leadership, operations, governance, and oversight.”

In the last few years, Purdue has made the following changes:

  • Ending all promotion of opioids and opioid products to healthcare professionals (HCPs) and eliminating its sales force.
  • Appointing a new President and CEO.
  • Adding a new independent Chairman of the Board and other highly qualified directors with restructuring and pharmaceutical industry experience.
  • Accepting the resignations of all Sackler family members from the Board.
  • Agreeing to be bound by – and continuing to comply fully with – an unprecedented voluntary injunction that further restricts the Company’s promotion of its opioid medications.
  • Agreeing to have an independent monitor review the Company’s compliance with the voluntary injunction.

Today’s agreement with DOJ resolves all potential criminal charges against the company with respect to the production, sale, marketing and distribution of its opioid products through the present. The civil settlement was entered into to avoid the delay, uncertainty, and expense of protracted litigation.

The settlement agreement with DOJ is being submitted to the bankruptcy court for review and approval. Under the terms of the agreement, Purdue’s $225 million payment is deferred until the entry of the judgment of conviction, which is expected to take place after the bankruptcy court approves a plan of reorganization.

Documents related to Purdue’s bankruptcy can be accessed here:

https://restructuring.primeclerk.com/purduepharma/Home-DocketInfo

About Purdue Pharma L.P.

Purdue Pharma and its subsidiaries develop and provide prescription medicines and consumer products that meet the evolving needs of healthcare professionals, patients, consumers and caregivers. We were founded by physicians and are currently led by a physician. Beyond our efforts to provide quality medications, Purdue is committed to supporting national, regional and local collaborations to drive innovations in patient care while also continuing our efforts to address the opioid addiction crisis.

Purdue’s subsidiaries include: Adlon Therapeutics L.P., focused on treatment for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and related disorders; Avrio Health L.P., a consumer health products company that champions an improved quality of life for people in the United States through the reimagining of innovative product solutions; Imbrium Therapeutics L.P., established to further advance the emerging portfolio and develop the pipeline in the areas of CNS, non-opioid pain medicines, and select oncology through internal research, strategic collaborations and partnerships; and Greenfield Bioventures L.P., an investment vehicle focused on value-inflection in early stages of clinical development.

For more information, visit www.purduepharma.com.

Contacts

Media Contact:
Michele Sharp

(203) 588-7584

[email protected]

This article published with permission from Business Wire

ByVitaliy Dadalyan