Justice Department has 'concerns' about Purdue Pharma bankruptcy exit plan

The Justice Department objected to Purdue Pharma’s plan to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Justice Department said Monday it has "fundamental concerns" with Purdue Pharma’s plan to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Purdue filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2019 as it faced thousands of lawsuits across the country over its aggressive marketing of OxyContin and other opioid products. While the department said it supports Purdue Pharma’s proposed business model of becoming a public benefit corporation and welcomes the distribution of more than $4 billion to states for opioids mitigation, it opposes shielding the heirs of founders Raymond and Mortimer Sackler from additional opioids-related litigation since they themselves are not going through bankruptcy. "The proposed shareholder release violates due process principles," the Justice Department statement, filed with the bankruptcy court in White Plains, New York, said.