AG Griffin: Arkansas’ share of Purdue Pharma settlement $44.5 million

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin announced Wednesday (June 25) Arkansas’ portion of the recent $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family for their role in the proliferation of the country’s opioid crisis.

Purdue Pharma, which is owned by the Sackler family, started manufacturing the powerful painkiller OxyContin in the mid-1990s. The company advertised the drug as a less addictive and safer alternative to other contemporary opiates prescribed for pain management.

In 2007, Purdue Pharma executives pleaded guilty to federal misbranding charges, and the company discontinued the original formulation of OxyContin in the years after.

Purdue Pharma was subject to thousands of lawsuits for its part in the opioid crisis. Since then, the Sackler family has drawn $11 billion, over 75% of Purdue Pharma’s assets, out of the company in anticipation of Sackler family members being sued personally.

Purdue Pharma filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019.

“Arkansas will receive an estimated $44.5 million of the settlement,” said Griffin. “These funds will be dispensed annually beginning next spring and will continue through 2040. As with previous settlements, Arkansas’ portion will be split into thirds, with one third—about $14.8 million, being awarded to the state, which will be managed by my office; one third being awarded to Arkansas municipalities; and one third being awarded to Arkansas counties.

The counties’ and municipalities’ portions will be collectively managed by the Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership.

“I am pleased to see Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family held accountable for their actions that perpetuated the opioid crisis across the country, including here in Arkansas. These funds will further opioid abatement in Arkansas and will help provide treatment, research, and prevention,” said Griffin.