A federal bankruptcy court judge on Tuesday formally approved OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s plan to settle thousands of lawsuits over the harms of opioids.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane gave reasoning Tuesday for approving the plan, which requires members of the Sackler family who own the company to contribute up to $7 billion over 15 years. Most of the money is to go to government entities to fight the opioid crisis that has been linked to 900,000 deaths in the U.S. since 1999.

A portion of the money is to be distributed next year to some people who had OxyContin prescriptions and their survivors.

“My heart goes out to all those who have suffered such pain,” Lane said.

The new agreement replaces one the U.S. Supreme Court rejected last year, finding it would have improperly protec

See Full Page