US drugmaker Purdue Pharma has filed for bankruptcy as part of efforts to deal with more than 2,000 lawsuits across the country. The company’s board approved the Chapter 11 filing on Sunday.
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The move will help to resolve the lawsuits which were filed over the alleged role in the opioid outbreak. The bankruptcy will remove Purdue from the trial against pharmaceutical companies which begins in October.
Prosecutors allege the company aggressively marketed the prescription painkillers, OxyContin, and mislead doctors and patients. The Sackler family, which own Purdue, deny any wrongdoing.
In a statement reported by Reuters, members of the Sackler family said: “It is our hope the bankruptcy reorganisation process that is now under way will end our ownership of Purdue and ensure its assets are dedicated for the public benefit.”
A Spokesperson for the Sackler family said: “We are hopeful that, in time, those parties who are not yet supportive will ultimately shift their focus to the critical resources that the settlement provides to people and problems that need them,”“We intend to work constructively with all parties as we try to implement this settlement.”
Opioids were involved in almost 400,000 overdose deaths in the US from 1999 to 2017. Since 2000 around 6,000 people have died in the US state Oklahoma from a opioid overdose. In 2012 the drug hit its peak, in that year there was around 250 million prescriptions.
Firms like Purdue are being accused of using deceptive practices to sell opioids including downplaying their addictive quality.
