Sign up to create alerts for Instruments,
Economic Events and content by followed authors
Free Sign Up Already have an account? Sign In
Quotes
All Instrument Types
- All Instrument Types
- Indices
- Equities
- ETFs
- Funds
- Commodities
- Currencies
- Crypto
- Bonds
- Certificates
Please try another search
Extended Sale! Save on premium data with Claim 60% OFF
Purdue Pharma to sell consumer business for $397 million
Published May 23, 2023 03:28PM ET
Updated May 23, 2023 06:46PM ET
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Bottles of prescription painkiller OxyContin pills, made by Purdue Pharma LP sit on a counter at a local pharmacy in Provo, Utah, U.S., April 25, 2017. REUTERS/George Frey
By Dietrich Knauth
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bankrupt Purdue Pharma received a U.S. judge's permission on Tuesday to sell its consumer health business for $397 million to a subsidiary of Arcadia Consumer Healthcare.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane approved Purdue's sale of Avrio Health at a hearing in White Plains, New York, allowing Purdue to begin liquidating its assets while it awaits a final ruling on a $10 billion settlement that would devote the company's remaining resources to combating the U.S. opioid epidemic.
Purdue's creditors' committee has pushed the company to use the proceeds from the sale to get started on that effort by compensating victims of the opioid crisis and funding addiction treatment programs.
Purdue attorney Eli Vonnegut said at Tuesday's hearing that the company supports that goal, but will need to build consensus among various stakeholders in its bankruptcy first. Purdue is hesitant to take that step while its future is uncertain and its bankruptcy plan is tied up in appeals, Vonnegut said.
Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019 to resolve thousands of lawsuits alleging that its opioid painkiller OxyContin kickstarted an epidemic that has caused more than 500,000 U.S. overdose deaths over two decades.
Purdue's effort to settle the lawsuits in bankruptcy has been stalled by appeals challenging the company's effort to shield its owners, members of the wealthy Sackler family, from liability in exchange for a $6 billion contribution to Purdue's settlement.
While Purdue resolved most of the objections to its plan, the U.S Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog has continued to argue that the Sacklers cannot be protected by the bankruptcy settlement because they are not bankrupt themselves.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard arguments in April 2022, has yet to rule on the appeal.
Avrio Health has never been involved in Purdue's opioid business. It sells over-the-counter antiseptics and laxatives, according to court documents.
Purdue initially planned to sell the business as part of its post-bankruptcy transition to a nonprofit company devoted to combating opioid overdoses and opioid use disorder.
Related Articles
Add Chart to Comment
Confirm Block
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
Report this comment
I feel that this comment is:
Comment flagged
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.