“The bulk of the funds would come from restructuring the company under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing … In addition, the company would give its addiction treatment drugs to the public without cost.” According to the NYT, the Sacklers would give up ownership of Purdue Pharma, and pay out billions “under terms of a settlement proposal to resolve thousands of federal and state lawsuits.” The potential deal will provide more questions than closure. What price do we put on a scourge so widespread it lowered America’s life expectancy? Is this just about money or should we be hearing evidence in a criminal court? Now that a far more deadly class of killer drugs is being shipped to consumers direct from China and elsewhere, will this deal have an impact on the current catastrophe? And how do we assess one company’s responsibility for a sweeping public health crisis that was exacerbated at every step by a perfect storm of bad policy, corporate greed, and a medical establishment all too eager to get patients out of the office and into the queue at their local pharmacy? It was all a prescription for disaster.

+ A refresher from The New Yorker: The Family That Built an Empire of Pain.

+ The Guardian: How big pharma is targeting India’s booming opioid market. “What began as a populist movement to bring inexpensive, Indian-made morphine to the ill has given rise to a pain management industry that promises countless new customers to American pharmaceutical companies facing a government crackdown and mounting lawsuits back home.”