OxyContin Maker Offers Free Opioid Therapy in Legal Talks
- Member of family behind Purdue Pharma holds treatment patent
- Offer comes as other drugmakers work to build goodwill in case
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The company that created OxyContin is offering free doses of an opioid-abuse treatment as part of its offer to resolve more than 1,000 lawsuits accusing the drugmaker of helping fuel the opioid crisis, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
Purdue Pharma has repeatedly said it will give away doses of a new version of buprenorphine -- which helps wean people addicted to opioids off the drugs -- as part of any settlement, according to four people familiar with the talks sponsored by state attorneys general and a federal judge. They asked not to be cited by name as the negotiations are confidential.