DEPT. OF JUSTICE NEWS RELEASE
Attorney General Raúl Torrez today announced that New Mexico will receive $40,152,910 in a settlement reached with Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family. This settlement caps nearly a decade of work by attorneys general from across the country in pursuing investigations and litigation over Purdue’s and the Sacklers’ role in fueling the opioid crisis.
“For too long, opioids have torn apart New Mexico families and devastated our communities,” said Attorney General Raúl Torrez. “By holding those responsible accountable and directing real resources toward treatment, prevention, and recovery, we’re giving working families a chance to stay whole and helping our communities build a safer, healthier future.”
After Purdue filed bankruptcy in September 2019 in light of massive litigation against the Company, the attorneys general have taken a lead role in the bankruptcy proceedings, including negotiating a new settlement that obtained more money from the Sackler family after the Supreme Court in June 2024 invalidated provisions in a prior settlement. The settlement gives funds to communities across the country, as well as individual victims and other groups who filed claims in the bankruptcy proceedings.
Fifty-five attorneys general representing all eligible U.S. states and territories previously signed onto the settlement. It resolves litigation against Purdue and the Sacklers for producing and aggressively marketing opioids in the United States, fueling the largest drug crisis in the country’s history. The settlement permanently bars the Sacklers from selling opioids in the U.S. and delivers funds for addiction treatment, prevention, and recovery to communities across the country over the next 15 years. The total settlement with Purdue and the Sacklers is $7.4 billion.
Most settlement funds will be distributed in the first three years. The Sacklers are paying more than $1.5 billion today, followed by approximately an additional $500 million in May 2027, $500 million in May 2028, and $400 million in May 2029. Additionally, Purdue is paying approximately $900 million today.
The settlement also means that Purdue’s manufacturing operations transfer effective today to Knoa Pharma LLC, which will be overseen by a board of directors who had no connection to Purdue. The settlement prevents Knoa from marketing opioids and provides for an independent monitor to ensure it provides these medicines in the safest possible manner that limits the risk of diversion.
The settlement also provides Purdue and the Sacklers will make public more than 30 million documents related to their opioid business.
Of the $40,152,910 that New Mexico will receive from the settlement, 45 percent of those dollars will go into the New Mexico Legislature’s Opioid Fund, and the remaining dollars will go directly to local governments.
Attorney General Torrez is joined in reaching the settlement by Attorneys General of Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.