Purdue Pharma pleads guilty to criminal charges, admits it fueled opioid epidemic
Washington, November 26 (RHC)-- Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, pleaded guilty to three criminal charges, admitting responsibility for its role in fueling the devastating opioid epidemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of people. The charges included offering illegal kickbacks to doctors in exchange for them writing more prescriptions.
Purdue reached a plea deal with the Justice Department for over $8 billion last month but will likely pay out just a fraction of that, as the company is in bankruptcy proceedings. Members of the billionaire Sackler family, who own Purdue, have not been criminally charged.
