Members of the billionaire Sackler family, long accused of misleading the public about the addictiveness of the OxyContin sold by their privately owned pharmaceutical company, Purdue Pharma, were granted sweeping immunity from civil lawsuits by a federal judge on Wednesday.As part of a bankruptcy plan that was negotiated behind closed doors, the Sacklers—who are said to possess net assets in excess of $11 billion—have agreed to forfeit ownership of Purdue and pay out $4.5 billion over the course of nine years. The settlement will also dissolve the company.The Sacklers will be shielded from future lawsuits related to opioids, though the deal offers no protection from criminal charges. No such charges have been filed, however, and none so far have been reported as pending. The drugmaker has previously pleaded guilty to widespread misconduct, including illegal kickbacks to doctors, and for misleading federal law enforcement officials and downplaying OxyContin’s addictiveness.Wednesday’s settlement, which resolves some 3,000 lawsuits brought against the Connecticut-based company and the family, does not require the Sacklers to admit to any wrongdoing in the country’s two-decades-long opioid epidemic, which has claimed roughly 500,000 lives since 1999.

Source: Purdue’s Sackler Family Gets Immunity in Opioid Bankrupcy Case