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Purdue Pharma, Manufacturer of OxyContin, Pleads Guilty to Criminal Charges for Role in Opioid Crisis

Purdue admitted to impeding DEA officials in their efforts to combat addiction, and paying off doctors to prescribe the drug.

Purdue Pharma, the company whose creation and aggressive marketing of OxyContin helped start the nationwide opioid epidemic, pleaded guilty to three criminal charges Tuesday. The plea, entered by board chair Steve Miller, officially acknowledges Purdue’s role in the crisis. Among the charges accepted, Purdue admitted to impeding DEA officials in their efforts to combat addiction, and paying off doctors to prescribe the drug. About 450,000 people nationwide died of opioid overdoses between 1999 and 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The company agreed to the settlement last month, and is set to pay $225 million out to the Department of Justice. The Sackler family, which owns Purdue, will also pay out $225 million. As part of the deal, no Purdue executives are facing prison time. The company filed for bankruptcy last year.