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Purdue Pharma’s $12B Tentative Settlement Faces Push Back from State AG’s

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4 years ago

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  • Purdue Pharma reached a potential $12 billion settlement with 23 states and more than 2,000 individual cases accusing the company of driving the country’s opioid crisis.
  • Under the details of the agreement, the company’s owners — the Sacklers —would need to pay $3 billion of the total, apply Purdue for bankruptcy, and dissolve the company.
  • A new company would then form, continuing to sell the painkiller OxyContin while also donating addiction treatment and overdose reversal drugs.

Tentative $12B Settlement

Purdue Pharma tentatively reached a massive settlement with more than 2,000 local governments after being sued for propagating by the United States’ opioid crisis, a move that will reportedly cost the company $12 billion dollars.

The settlement, agreed upon by 23 states, also stipulates that the owners of Purdue — the Sackler family — must relinquish their ownership and pay $3 billion of the grand total over a seven-year period. 

Forbes estimates the Sacklers net worth at $13 billion, but the family’s penalty might actually end up coming from the sale of their overseas pharmaceutical company Mundipharma. If, however, the Sacklers make more than $3 billion from the sale of Mundipharma, they could end up paying up to another $1.5 billion.

Purdue manufactures OxyContin, an opioid painkiller that many have claimed drove the opioid crisis the country currently faces. The conglomeration of lawsuits against Purdue seeks to hold the company accountable for hundreds of thousands of overdoses beginning in the mid-1990s.

Purdue would also be expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, effectively dissolving the company. That, in turn, would allow the formation of a new company that would continue to sell OxyContin and other medicine. Money made from those sales would then help pay alleged victims from the lawsuits.

Additionally, Purdue would donate addiction treatment and overdose reversal drugs.

“Purdue Pharma continues to work with all plaintiffs on reaching a comprehensive resolution to its opioid litigation that will deliver billions of dollars and vital opioid overdose rescue medicines to communities across the country impacted by the opioid crisis,” the company said in a statement.

Notably, the settlement allows Purdue to avoid publishing an admission of wrongdoing. 

The agreement, however, is not finalized. The company’s board must still agree to the settlement, and a bankruptcy court judge must also approve it.

If the settlement goes through, Purdue will avoid an upcoming October trial in Cleveland, which would be the first federal trial involving a company potentially being held accountable for the opioid epidemic. Attorneys who support the agreement said it is a better solution than a long trial that might not yield better results. 

In August, Johnson & Johnson became the first pharmaceutical company to lose a lawsuit concerning the opioid crisis when it was forced to pay $572 million to the state of Oklahoma. Purdue was also implicated in the same lawsuit, but it settled with Oklahoma to pay $270 million. 

In 2007, the company and three executives were forced to shell out $635 million after pleading guilty to lying to doctors and the public about OxyContin’s safety. 

Response From States

While the settlement would push a large sum across the country, more than half of the states’ attorneys general criticized the tentative settlement, arguing the amount to be paid does not offset the amount governments have spent and will need to spend to fight the opioid crisis. 

It comes in spite of the executive committee of lawyers representing all of the cases recommended states accept the deal. 

Because of their response, that has led some commentators to question whether or not a bankruptcy judge will accept the proposal. Now, some of those state attorneys general — including those for Virginia, North Carolina, and Delaware — said they will go after the Sacklers directly.

“These people are among the most responsible for the trail of death and destruction the opioid epidemic has left in its wake,” North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said of the Sackler family. 

Several Democratic presidential hopefuls have suggested taking criminal action against either the company or potentially the Sacklers through proposed legislation.

“If no Sacklers end up behind bars, an entire class of people will continue to feel that writing a check is the worst thing that will happen to them ever no [matter] what they do,” Keith Humphreys, a drug policy expert at Stanford, said.

In a statement, the family said it “supports working toward a global resolution that directs resources to the patients, families and communities across the country who are suffering and need assistance. This is the most effective way to address the urgency of the current public health crisis and to fund real solutions, not endless litigation.”

Other attorneys representing various states called the agreement a win and “historic.” 

“Sadly, this agreement cannot bring back those who have lost their lives to opioid abuse,” Ashley Moody, the state attorney general for Florida, said, “but it will help Florida gain access to more life-saving resources and bolster our efforts to end this deadly epidemic.”

See what others are saying: (New York Times) (CNN) (Washington Post)

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White Supremacist Propaganda Reached Record High in 2022, ADL Finds

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2 weeks ago

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March 9, 2023

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 “We cannot sit idly by as these extremists pollute our communities with their hateful trash,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said.

White supremacist propaganda in the U.S. reached record levels in 2022, according to a report published Wednesday by the Anti-Defamation League’s Center of Extremism.

The ADL found over 6,700 cases of white supremacist propaganda in 2022, which marks a 38% jump from the nearly 4,900 cases the group found in 2021. It also represents the highest number of incidents ever recorded by the ADL. 

The propaganda tallied by the anti-hate organization includes the distribution of racist, antisemitic, and homophobic flyers, banners, graffiti, and more. This propaganda has spread substantially since 2018, when the ADL found just over 1,200 incidents. 

“There’s no question that white supremacists and antisemites are trying to terrorize and harass Americans with their propaganda,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “We cannot sit idly by as these extremists pollute our communities with their hateful trash.” 

The report found that there were at least 50 white supremacist groups behind the spread of propaganda in 2022, but 93% of it came from just three groups. One of those groups was also responsible for 43% of the white supremacist events that took place last year. 

White supremacist events saw a startling uptick of their own, with the ADL documenting at least 167, a 55% jump from 2021. 

Propaganda was found in every U.S. state except for Hawaii, and events were documented in 33 states, most heavily in Massachusetts, California, Ohio, and Florida.

“The sheer volume of white supremacist propaganda distributions we are documenting around the country is alarming and dangerous,” Oren Segal, Vice President of the ADL’s Center on Extremism said in a statement. “Hardly a day goes by without communities being targeted by these coordinated, hateful actions, which are designed to sow anxiety and create fear.”

“We need a whole-of-society approach to combat this activity, including elected officials, community leaders, and people of good faith coming together and condemning this activity forcefully,” Segal continued. 

See what others are saying: (Axios) (The Hill) (The New York Times)

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Adidas Financial Woes Continue, Company on Track for First Annual Loss in Decades

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2 weeks ago

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March 8, 2023

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Adidas has labeled 2023 a “transition year” for the company. 

Yeezy Surplus 

Adidas’ split with musician Kanye West has left the company with financial problems due to surplus Yeezy products, putting the sportswear giant in the position to potentially suffer its first annual loss in over 30 years. 

Adidas dropped West last year after he made a series of antisemitic remarks on social media and other broadcasts. His Yeezy line was a staple for Adidas, and the surplus product is due, in part, to the brand’s own decision to continue production during the split.

According to CEO Bjorn Gulden, Adidas continued production of only the items already in the pipeline to prevent thousands of people from losing their jobs. However, that has led to the unfortunate overabundance of Yeezy sneakers and clothes. 

On Wednesday, Gulden said that selling the shoes and donating the proceeds makes more sense than giving them away due to the Yeezy resale market — which has reportedly shot up 30% since October.

“If we sell it, I promise that the people who have been hurt by this will also get something good out of this,” Gulden said in a statement to the press. 

However, Gulden also said that West is entitled to a portion of the proceeds of the sale of Yeezys per his royalty agreement.

The Numbers 

Adidas announced in February that, following its divergence from West, it is facing potential sales losses totaling around $1.2 billion and profit losses of around $500 million. 

If it decides to not sell any more Yeezy products, Adidas is facing a projected annual loss of over $700 million.

Outside of West, Adidas has taken several heavy profit blows recently. Its operating profit reportedly fell by 66% last year, a total of more than $700 million. It also pulled out of Russia after the country’s invasion of Ukraine last year, which cost Adidas nearly $60 million dollars. Additionally, China’s “Zero Covid” lockdowns last year caused in part a 36% drop in revenue for Adidas compared to years prior.

As a step towards a solution, Gulden announced that the company is slashing its dividends from 3.30 euros to 0.70 euro cents per share pending shareholder approval. 

Adidas has labeled 2023 a “transition year” for the company. 

“Adidas has all the ingredients to be successful. But we need to put our focus back on our core: product, consumers, retail partners, and athletes,” Gulden said. “I am convinced that over time we will make Adidas shine again. But we need some time.”

See what others are saying: (The Washington Post) (The New York Times) (CNN)

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Immigration Could Be A Solution to Nursing Home Labor Shortages

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2 weeks ago

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March 7, 2023

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98% of nursing homes in the United States are experiencing difficulty hiring staff. 

The Labor Crisis 

A recent National Bureau of Economic Research paper has offered up a solution to the nursing home labor shortage: immigration. 

According to a 2022 American Health Care Association survey, six in ten nursing homes are limiting new patients due to staffing issues. The survey also says that 87% of nursing homes have staffing shortages and 98% are experiencing difficulty hiring. 

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) outlined in their paper that increased immigration could help solve the labor shortage in nursing homes. Immigrants make up 19% of nursing home workers.

With every 10% increase in female immigration, nursing assistant hours go up by 0.7% and registered nursing hours go up by 1.1% And with that same immigration increase, short-term hospitalizations of nursing home residents go down by 0.6%.

The Solution 

Additionally, the State Department issued 145% more EB-3 documents, which are employment-based visas, for healthcare workers in the 2022 fiscal year than in 2019, suggesting that more people are coming to the U.S. to work in health care. 

However, according to Skilled Nursing News, in August of 2022, the approval process from beginning to end for an RN can take between seven to nine months. 

Displeasure about immigration has exploded since Pres. Joe Biden took office in 2021. According to a Gallup study published in February, around 40% of American adults want to see immigration decrease. That is a steep jump from 19% in 2021, and it is the highest the figure has been since 2016.

However, more than half of Democrats still are satisfied with immigration and want to see it increased. But with a divided Congress, the likelihood of any substantial immigration change happening is pretty slim. 

See what others are saying: (Axios) (KHN) (Skilled Nursing News)

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