Purdue Pharma files for bankruptcy protection in the US

Purdue Pharma has reportedly filed for bankruptcy, with the company’s board approving a Chapter 11 application. The move comes following legal action brought against the pharmaceutical company for its role in the opioid crisis.

Although Purdue previously reached a tentative agreement with 23 states, many rejected the settlement for being too low.

Twenty-four states opted to continue their path towards legal action, reports Reuters, despite the OxyContin maker denying the allegations made against it.

Bankruptcy would be the “best hope for finalising and implementing a global resolution to this litigation,” said Purdue Chairman Steve Miller in an interview with the news outlet.

The result of the reorganisation from the bankruptcy filing, says the report, will help to determine how much money the pharmaceutical company will pay out to US communities.

The report also details how Purdue will ask a bankruptcy judge to halt any active lawsuits to enable it to finalise a payment. However, the business is aware that the states will argue their legal action cannot be prevented due to the lawsuits being based upon breaches of public health and safety laws, which exempts the usual bankruptcy rules.