New York (AFP)

A US judge on Wednesday validated the bankruptcy plan proposed by the Purdue company, which provides for the payment of $ 4.5 billion to victims and institutions affected by the opioid crisis and some immunity for its owners, the Sackler family.

The plan had already received the support of 95% of the company's creditors as well as 43 US states, the company said in a statement.

It provides for the dissolution of Purdue Pharma in favor of a new entity managed by a trust whose mission will be to fight against the opiate crisis.

A few states had again expressed in July their opposition to the project presented by Purdue Pharma because of the legal protections it provides for members of the Sackler family against possible future lawsuits related to the company, except in cases of fault. intentional.

The Washington state attorney already announced on Wednesday that he would appeal the bankruptcy court ruling.

Other states which had been particularly aggressive against Purdue and its owners, including those of New York and Massachusetts, had accepted the proposals of a mediator in early July, including providing that family members will have to publish "dozens millions of documents "exposing the underside of this immense scandal, in particular their exchanges with their lawyers.

"No deal is perfect, and no amount of money will ever make up for the hundreds of thousands of people who have lost their lives, the millions who have become dependent or the countless families torn apart by this crisis, but these funds will be used to prevent future deaths and damage from the opioid epidemic, "Letitia James, prosecutor for New York State, said Wednesday.

The aggressive promotion of the pain-relieving drug OxyContin by Purdue, driven by the Sackler family who knew it to be highly addictive, is considered by many to be the trigger for the opioid crisis.

At the origin of more than 500,000 deaths by overdose in 20 years in the United States, it was considered the main health crisis in the country before the pandemic.

© 2021 AFP