New York (AFP)

Fifteen US states, which opposed the restructuring plan of the Purdue laboratory accused of triggering the opioid crisis with its drug OxyContin, finally accepted his proposals, according to court documents filed overnight Wednesday through Thursday.

According to a report by a mediator registered with the Federal Bankruptcy Court in New York, among the 15 states are those of New York and Massachusetts, whose prosecutors had been particularly aggressive against Purdue and its owners, the Sackler family.

New York State Attorney Letitia James was to explain this during a press briefing Thursday morning.

The deal that the 15 states have agreed to is expected to implement a bankruptcy exit plan in which Purdue offered to pay some $ 4.3 billion.

The deal announced by the mediator provides for the payment of an additional $ 50 million by the owners of Purdue, the Sackler family, who will also have to make public "tens of millions of documents" that have remained confidential so far, especially on its exchanges with his lawyers.

The Purdue laboratory, which declared itself in bankruptcy in September 2019, had agreed in October 2020 to plead guilty to fraud and violation of rights on bribes, in connection with its aggressive promotion of the pain-relieving drug to the opiates OxyContin, which he knew to be addictive.

As part of an agreement with the US Department of Justice valued at more than $ 8 billion, Purdue also announced that it would reorganize itself to help fight this scourge of opiate overdoses.

OxyContin is seen as the trigger for the opioid crisis, which has caused more than 500,000 overdose deaths in 20 years in the United States.

After the agreement announced overnight, there are still 10 states, including California, which refuses the proposals of Purdue and the Sackler family, owner of the laboratory.

The opiate crisis has triggered a mountain of litigation in the United States, targeting Purdue and other major laboratories that have sold opiate drugs, but also distributors, wholesalers and pharmacies, and prescribing physicians.

Often initiated by states and local communities, these lawsuits claim billions of dollars in compensation for the cost of this crisis, which was the main US health crisis before the pandemic.

© 2021 AFP