Purdue solicits claims against itself

Ad campaign urges potential victims to seek settlement

STAMFORD — OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma has launched a $24 million ad campaign that tells Americans how they can file claims against the company if they believe they have been hurt by its opioid products.

Informing amyone with potential claims is a regular part of bankruptcy proceedings. Purdue’s nationwide campaign reflects feedback from a committee of creditors and other stakeholders and was approved last month by the federal bankruptcy judge overseeing the case in White Plains, N.Y.

“Purdue sees the launch of the noticing program as another important step in the company’s ongoing effort to achieve a global settlement, which would provide more than $10 billon of value to the American public to address the opioid crisis and speed delivery of resources and vital medicines to affected communities,” the Stamford-based company said in a statement.

Individuals have until June 30 to file claims. People can also file on behalf of their children or for those whom they serve as guardians.

Ed Neiger, a lawyer representing a committee of individuals, said the campaign will help identify claimants.

“A lot of the victims don’t know that they were victimized. They may think that they’re addicts. They may think that they have a moral failing or a character failing,” Neiger said. “There were people in a boardroom that caused them to become addicted to opioids.”

The payouts would not change the total settlement value, which Purdue has pegged at more than $10 billion since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last September. The total amount paid out to individuals would be determined through the bankruptcy process.

Private citizens’ claims would be settled alongside the nearly 3,000 lawsuits filed against Purdue by local and state governments.

Governmental plaintiffs, including Connecticut and several dozen cities in the state, allege that Purdue fueled the opioid crisis with deceptive OxyContin marketing. Purdue denies those accusations.

As part of the campaign, Purdue has rolled out online ads that direct users to a website where claims can be made. Other versions will run across other platforms, insettlement.

cluding newspapers, magazines, TV and radio, billboards and movie theaters.

While the parties try to work out a settlement, the lawsuits against Purdue are on hold until at least April 8.

Those prospective terms would also entail the Sackler family members who own Purdue to relinquish control so the firm could be converted into a public benefit company.

In addition, Purdue has pledged to provide millions of doses of opioid-overdose reversal drugs and addiction-treatment medicines to communities across the country.

About two dozen states have accepted the company’s proposed But Purdue still needs to secure the support of the 24 “non-consenting states,” including Connecticut, that have not accepted its proposal.

A message left Tuesday for Connecticut Attorney General William Tong was not immediately returned. But Tong has expressed doubts about the feasibility of Purdue’s plan and said it does not go far enough to tackle the opioid crisis. He has not said publicly how much he thinks the company should pay.

Nearly 70 percent of the 70,000 fatal drug overdoses in the U.S. in 2017 involved an opioid, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of fatal opioid overdoses that year totaled six times the toll in 1999.

This article contains reporting from the Associated Press. pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; 203-964-2236; Twitter: @paulschott