NEWARK, N.J. — Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, is set to be dissolved and replaced by a company focused on the public good by the end of the week. This follows the approval of a massive legal settlement that resolves thousands of lawsuits against the company.
A federal judge on Tuesday delivered a criminal sentence to Purdue Pharma, resolving a Department of Justice probe. This ruling was the final step required to implement the settlement.
U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo issued her decision after hearing hours of impact statements from individuals who lost loved ones or struggled with addiction. Many of these statements urged her to reject the negotiated sentence. While Judge Arleo did not fully reject the sentence, she expressed sympathy for those affected by an epidemic linked to over 900,000 deaths in the U.S. since 1999.
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