Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty to Federal Criminal Charges Related to Nation’s Opioid Crisis

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Purdue Pharma Chairman of the Board Steve Miller has pleaded guilty on behalf of the company in a virtual federal court hearing before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo.

The counts include one of dual purpose conspiracy to defraud the United States and to violate the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and two counts of conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute.

The plea deal announced in October includes the heaviest penalties ever imposed on a pharmaceutical manufacturer, including a criminal fine of $ 3.544 billion and an additional criminal confiscation of $ 2 billion, according to a press release from the Ministry of Justice.

The company, which declared bankruptcy last year, will be dissolved as part of the plea deal, and its assets will be used to create a new “public utility” controlled by a trust or similar entity designed in the United States. benefit the American public.

The Justice Department has said Purdue Pharma will operate entirely in the public interest rather than to maximize profits. Its future income will be used to pay fines and penalties, which in turn will be used to fight the opioid crisis.

By pleading guilty to the criminal charges, the company is taking responsibility for past wrongdoing, Purdue Pharma said in a statement to CNN on Tuesday.

“Securing our plea in federal court and taking responsibility for past wrongdoing is an essential step in preserving billions of dollars of value to creditors and advancing our goal of providing financial resources and life-saving medicines to deal with the crisis. opioid crisis, “the statement read. .

“We continue to work tirelessly to build additional support for a proposed bankruptcy settlement, which would direct the overwhelming majority of settlement funds to state, local and tribal governments in an effort to alleviate the opioid crisis.”

According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 70,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2018, just one year from the opioid crisis, and about 70% of those deaths were caused by opioids. prescription or illegal like OxyContin.
In that year, an estimated 10.3 million Americans aged 12 and over abused opioids, including 9.9 million prescription pain relievers and 808,000 heroin users, according to the US Department of Health. health and social services, addiction and administration of mental health services.

The Sackler family, as well as other current and former employees and owners of the company, still face the possibility of federal criminal lawsuits being filed against them.

The court did not set a date for a sentencing hearing.

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