Purdue Pharma, the drug company that makes the highly addictive prescription painkiller OxyContin, is considering filing for bankruptcy in response to thousands of lawsuits it faces for its role in the opioid crisis.
The news, reported by Reuters Monday, comes amid more than 1,000 lawsuits accusing Purdue and other drug companies of lying to doctors and patients about how addictive the drugs were. Purdue has denied the accusations and said that its labels told patients that the drugs might be addictive.
If Purdue were to file for bankruptcy, then the lawsuits would end and the company could negotiate legal claims with plaintiffs under the supervision of a bankruptcy judge. The company alternatively may choose to continue fighting the suits, and has a trial scheduled for May.
The company declined to comment on reports about bankruptcy in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner.
“As a privately held company, it has been Purdue Pharma’s longstanding policy not to comment on our financial or legal strategy,” the company said. “We are, however, committed to ensuring that our business remains strong and sustainable. We have ample liquidity and remain committed to meeting our obligations to the patients who benefit from our medicines, our suppliers and other business partners.”
The powerful opioid OxyContin, which hit the market in 1996 for the treatment of pain, is considered to be one of the lead causes of the opioid crisis in the U.S, which claimed the lives of nearly 50,000 people in 2017. People who used OxyContin often became hooked on the drug and switched to heroin, a drug that has similar effects on the brain and is easier to access.
[Opinion: The opioid epidemic is a cultural problem, it requires cultural solutions]
