Ohio to Receive up to $198M from Purdue Settlement

The Ohio Attorney General (AG) announced that AGs in 49 states, D.C, and 5 U.S. territories have signed on to a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family. Now that the state sign-on period has concluded, local governments nationwide will be asked to join the settlement, which is subject to the approval of a federal bankruptcy judge.

Communities nationwide will receive settlement funds over the next 15 years to support addiction treatment and prevention as well as recovery services. In Ohio, the state and local governments will receive up to $198 million from the agreement.

As with previous opioid settlements, the resolution of claims by state and local governments is contingent on bankruptcy court approval. A hearing on the matter is scheduled in the coming days. Subject that final approval in bankruptcy court, the funds will be distributed according to the established OneOhio plan: 55% to the OneOhio Recovery Foundation, 30% to local governments, and 15% to the state.

This settlement is the latest settlement in a string brokered to help fund opioid recovery in Ohio. Prior settlements include:

• An $808 million settlement with opioid distributors Cardinal Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen.
• A $185 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.
• A $24.7 million settlement with McKinsey & Co. 
• A $114 million settlement with Walmart
• A $679 million settlement with drug makers Teva and Allergan and pharmacies CVS and Walgreens