Trending Now - Purdue Pharma Ceases Operations Following Major Legal Settlement

WHO:

Gothamist - New York Attorney General Letitia James hailed the company’s closure.

ABC News - Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, is being replaced by Knoa Pharma, a new entity operating in the public interest.

WHAT:

Gothamist - Purdue Pharma has ceased operations as part of a legal settlement with New York and other states.

ABC News - Purdue Pharma is set to dissolve and be replaced with Knoa Pharma under a settlement that resolves thousands of lawsuits over the opioid crisis.

ABC News - The minimum money provided by the Purdue settlement is at least $6.5 billion, primarily from members of the Sackler family.

ABC News - The estimated value of all opioid lawsuit settlements since 2019 is $50 billion.

ABC News - The Sackler family received $4.5 billion in payouts from Purdue from 2008 to 2018.

WHERE:

Gothamist - The closure was announced outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC.

WHEN:

ABC News - The settlement goes into effect on a specified Friday.

ABC News - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2024 to reject an earlier version of Purdue's settlement.

WHY:

ABC News - The settlement addresses the toll of opioids, which has resulted in more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. since 1999.

HOW:

ABC News - Purdue Pharma is being replaced by Knoa Pharma, with a board appointed by states and a mission to fight the opioid epidemic.

ABC News - The settlement includes provisions for making company documents public, to be maintained by the University of California San Francisco and Johns Hopkins University.

(UPDATED May 1, 2026 23:19 UTC)

Purdue Pharma has officially ceased operations as part of a legal settlement with New York and other states, and will be replaced by a new entity called Knoa Pharma, which is dedicated to addressing the opioid crisis. This settlement, which is set to take effect on a specified Friday, includes a minimum payout of at least $6.5 billion, primarily sourced from the Sackler family, and aims to provide transparency by making company documents public through partnerships with the University of California San Francisco and Johns Hopkins University. New York Attorney General Letitia James praised the closure, highlighting the significant toll of opioids, which has led to over 500,000 deaths in the U.S. since 1999.