Ethics

For quite some time, Purdue Pharma has been regarded as a symbol of corporations profiting from America’s deadly addiction to opioid painkillers. Recently, the Justice Department announced a historic $8.3 billion settlement with the company. This fine is the largest such settlement ever reached with a pharmaceutical company. As part of the agreement, Purdue Pharma has agreed to plead guilty to three felonies. However, state authorities and several families who have lost loved ones to killer drugs believe that the Justice Department’s terms, including a $225 million civil settlement with the billionaire Sackler family that once ran the firm, are far too lenient.