Mississippi will receive a total of $41 million over the next 15 years from a now-defunct pharmaceutical company accused of fueling a nationwide opioid crisis.
Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced on Friday that Mississippi will receive the funds as part of an overarching $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and its owners. Mississippi sued the company, which permanently shuttered operations on May 1, in 2015, joining attorneys general from all 50 U.S. states.
“The opioid epidemic has claimed far too many lives in Mississippi, leaving behind lasting pain,” Fitch said. “This settlement is another step toward holding accountable those who played a role in this epidemic and toward healing for many Mississippians who lost loved ones. Together, we can address the harm already done and prevent more senseless deaths.”
RELATED: Mississippi Senate declines to override governor’s veto of opioid funds for 3 nonprofits
The settlement resolves the litigation against Purdue and the Sacklers — the family who owned the company — for producing and aggressively marketing opioids in the United States, officials say. Settlement funding will serve to aid communities across the country, along with individual victims and other groups who filed claims when Purdue filed bankruptcy in 2019 due to the legal challenges it faced.
As a result of the settlement, he Sackler family has been barred from selling opioids in the U.S. The family’s company recently transferred manufacturing operations to Knoa Pharma, which is overseen by a board with no connection to Purdue.
