Montana’s Bullock to monitor Purdue
Replaces Vilsack, who takes helm at U.S. ag department
STAMFORD — OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma announced this week the appointment of former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock as its new independent monitor, succeeding Tom Vilsack, who was confirmed last month for a second stint as U.S. agriculture secretary.
Vilsack, a former Iowa governor, had served since February 2020 as the first monitor of the Stamfordbased company — a role focused on ensuring that the firm does not engage in any future misconduct. Last November, Purdue pleaded guilty to three criminal charges related to defrauding the government and kickback violations, as part of an approximately $8 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Purdue officials assert that the company has undergone significant reforms in the past few years. In February 2018, it announced that it would stop marketing OxyContin and other opioids and then reaffirmed that decision under a “voluntary injunction” that was approved in late 2019 by Robert Drain, the federal bankruptcy judge overseeing its case. In a related move, Drain recommended that the company hire a monitor to confirm its compliance.
As monitor, Vilsack filed four reports that each determined that the company was making “good faith efforts” to comply with the voluntary injunction, according to Purdue officials.
Bullock would have “unfettered access” to employees, books, records and facilities, the company said.
“We will provide our full cooperation to Gov. Bullock,” Purdue CEO Craig Landau said in a statement. “In the last few years, we have made significant changes to our leadership, operations, governance, and oversight. As part of this commitment, we agreed to be bound by — and comply fully with — an unprecedented voluntary injunction that further restricts the company’s promotion of its opioid medications.”
Bullock, a Democrat, served two terms as Montana governor, from 2013 to 2021. From 2009 to 2013, he served as the state’s attorney general. During that time, he played a leading role in initiatives such as the “24/7 Sobriety Program,” which tackles drinking-and-driving, and the Montana Children's Justice Center, whose work includes helping children endangered by drug abuse in their homes.
Last year, Bullock ran for a U.S. Senate seat, but he lost to Republican incumbent Steve Daines. Bullock previously ran for president, but he dropped out of the race in December 2019, several weeks before the 2020 Iowa caucuses.
He lives in the Montana state capital of Helena with his wife and three children.
Bullock could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday.
The company did not disclose how much it would pay Bullock for his services as monitor.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong declined to comment on the appointment of Bullock.
Through its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, which started in September 2019, Purdue is trying to resolve several thousand lawsuits that accuse the company of fueling the national opioid crisis with deceptive OxyContin marketing.
Purdue has denied those allegations, but it is still offering a comprehensive settlement that it values at more than $10 billion.
“We will file a plan of reorganization on or before March 15 as we continue to pursue our ultimate goal — to achieve a global settlement that would deliver more than $10 billion in value, including 100 percent of Purdue’s assets, to address the opioid crisis,” the company said in a statement Tuesday provided to Hearst Connecticut Media. “Our proposed settlement structure would provide needed funds, as well as millions of doses of lifesaving opioid addiction treatment and overdose reversal medicines, to states, local communities and tribes to help abate the opioid crisis.”
While about half of the states have accepted the company’s settlement offer, 24 “non-consenting states” including Connecticut have rejected its proposal.
In addition to their unhappiness with the financial terms of Purdue’s proposed settlement, the nonconsenting states also oppose the firm’s plan to convert itself into a “public-benefit company,” which would focus on using its resources to help respond to the opioid epidemic. While Purdue has proposed such an arrangement since it filed for bankruptcy, the Justice Department mandated such a change as part of its settlement with the company.