Recently, the opioid epidemic that is going on in America has come to a full head, and very few of these companies are willing to step up and take responsibility for the damage that has been caused. Purdue Pharma, which is the company that manufactures OxyContin, has pleaded guilty to criminal charges that are directly related to the marketing of the product. OxyContin is a highly addictive painkiller and is partially responsible for the public health crisis still going on to this day. Due to their product marketing, Purdue Pharma is currently facing penalties of roughly $8.3 billion, which was announced by the Justice Department this past Wednesday.

Opioids, as a whole, have killed over 450,000 Americans since 1999, and this settlement could pave the way for a resolution to this crisis in the near future. While this does not bring legal action within big pharma companies to a close, it definitely pushes things in the right direction as we are able to hold these companies accountable for damages that they have caused. The Sackler family, who are known for founding and owning Purdue Pharma, said in a statement that they “acted ethically and lawfully.” Still, the persistent marketing and manufacturing of the drug have proven otherwise.

Many cities, communities, states, and individuals have made claims in a federal settlement accusing the company’s marketing of OxyContin as being a direct contributor to the crisis of addiction and overdoses. On top of this, recreational use of this drug has also resulted in towering costs in health care, law enforcement, and unemployment. In the federal settlement, Purdue has agreed to plead guilty to felony charges such as violation of anti-kickback laws, as well as defrauding federal health agencies. Penalties for these crimes include nearly $4 billion in criminal fines, along with $2 billion in criminal forfeiture of profits. This is the largest amount of financial penalties that a pharmaceutical company is faced with to date. On top of these penalties, Purdue Pharma has also been ordered to pay $600 million in fines back in 2007 for misleading doctors, patients and the government for OxyContin.

Purdue has since proposed a different approach. Forging ahead, the company will be run as a “public benefit corporation,” with proceeds from continued OxyContin sales and other medications to go toward opioid abatement, treatment, and rehabilitation. This model was endorsed by the Justice Department, which received backlash from the Attorney General William Barr. He stated that governments should not involve themselves in the opioid business and that Purdue is run privately with government oversight.

While the opioid crisis has been going on for years, America must find a way to work out the kinks and figure out how to move in the right direction. Americans are not living just for larger companies to profit from them, and these companies must be held accountable for their actions. Criminal charges for OxyContin is definitely a step in the right direction. However, as stated previously, it is not even close to the end of the fight that is continuing globally and as thousands of lives are being lost very day.