Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan is hopeful the state will reach a settlement with Purdue Pharma over its role in fueling the opioid crisis, despite reports that the company will soon file for bankruptcy.
Vermont is among 48 states suing the company, and while the drugmaker had been in settlement talks with state officials, those discussions have reportedly stalled in recent days.
The state and local governments suing Purdue, which manufacturers the opioid painkiller OxyContin, asked the company and its owners last week for a $4.5 billion settlement, which they rejected, according to the Associated Press.
The Associated Press also reported that the Sackler family, which owns Purdue, had rejected two offers outlining how money from a settlement would be handled.
“As a result, the negotiations are at an impasse, and we expect Purdue to file for bankruptcy protection imminently,” the attorneys general of Tennessee and North Carolina wrote in a message to their fellow litigants across the country.
A bankruptcy filing would likely delay payments, and mean that the 2,000 state and local governments would have to seek settlement claims individually in bankruptcy court instead of as a group.
But Donovan said Monday that while Vermont is prepared to litigate against Purdue in bankruptcy court, he isn’t ready to give up on the ongoing settlement talks.
“I believe there’s always time for a deal and until you truly walk away, both sides should be continuing to talk. That’s what I believe and that’s what I’m counseling,” Donovan said.
“We’re always willing to negotiate, we’re always willing to talk, but it’s got to be a deal that works for Vermonters.”
Donovan declined to comment about the details of the ongoing negotiations with the company.
In an emailed statement, Purdue Pharma said it was still committed to reaching a settlement with the states and municipalities that have taken legal action against it.
“Purdue Pharma believes a settlement that benefits the American public now is a far better path than years of wasteful litigation and appeals,” the company wrote.
It added that “negotiations continue and we remain dedicated to a resolution that genuinely advances the public interest.”
Purdue was not the leading manufacturer of prescriptions opioids in Vermont as the addiction crisis mounted in Vermont, in fact it was fourth.
The company made 5.1% of the oxycodone and hydrocodone pills sold in Vermont between 2006 and 2012, according to a Seven Days report based on U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration data. SpecGx, a subsidiary of the British pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt, sold almost twice as many pills as the next highest manufacturers, Actavis Pharma and Par Pharmaceutical.
In addition to suing Purdue Pharma, Vermont has also sued eight members of the Sackler family, the founders of the company.
The state’s suit against the billionaire family asserts the Sacklers deceptively marketed OxyContin for years and profited from patients who became addicted to the drug.
Vermont is one of about 20 states that has directly sued the Sackler family and Donovan said that even if Purdue Pharma sought bankruptcy protections, the state’s suit against the family would still be able to move forward.
“My belief is that our claims against the Sackler family personally and individually is not dischargeable,” he said.
Donovan said that when it comes to the negotiations in Vermont’s lawsuit against the company, he believes that “staying at the table and talking till the bitter end” is the best course of action.
“My hope is we can come to a compromise on this because whether it’s Vermont or any other state — a lot of people suffered,” he said.
