U.S. agrees deal over opioid sales
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The Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, have reached a deal to pay up to $6 billion in cash to resolve widespread litigation alleging that they fuelled the U.S. opioid epidemic
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All opioids Prescription opioids

1996: Purdue Pharma introduces OxyContin. Aggressive marketing boosts annual sales from $48 million to $1.1 billion by 2000

1997: OxyContin prescriptions increase from 670,000 to around 6.2 million by 2002

2001: Purdue pays some 670 sales representatives $40 million in incentive bonuses

2015: Dr. Richard Sackler (above left), former president of Purdue Pharma, denies company has any responsibility for opioid crisis

2020: Deaths from prescription opioids increase by 477% since 1999

Opioid deaths 1999-2020 564,522

Prescription opioid deaths 263,060

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 


8,050 13,756 17,545 20,422 23,166 28,647 33,091 42,249 47,600 49,860 68,630

3,442 8,577 11,589 13,523  14,240  14,838 15,281 17,087 17,029 14,139  16,416


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Sources: CDC, Nature, ProPublica, Reuters Picture: ProPublica © GRAPHIC NEWS