Opioid Billionaires Face Final Test of Deal to Avoid Liability

  • Purdue Pharma, Sacklers seeks court approval of settlement bid
  • Deal earmarks billions of dollars to combat opioid addiction

The Purdue Pharma LP headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.

Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
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Purdue Pharma LP and its owners, members of the Sackler family, are nearing the end of their decades-long association with opioids, seeking court approval to pay billions of dollars and walk away from the business that helped make their fortune.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain on Thursday will begin what’s expected to be an 11-day trial -- the longest in his career -- to review a proposal the company values at more than $10 billion to settle trillions of dollars in liabilities over its addictive painkiller OxyContin.