Attorney General James Announces Shutdown of Opioid Manufacturer Purdue Pharma

May 1, 2026

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced that opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma (Purdue) has shut down and ceased operations as part of a bankruptcy plan secured by Attorney General James, a bipartisan coalition of 54 other attorneys general, and other stakeholders. A new public benefit corporation, Knoa Pharma, LLC (Knoa Pharma), will begin operating in its place today and will be overseen by independent directors and trustees who have no association with Purdue. Knoa Pharma will be entirely owned by the Knoa Foundation, a newly established nonprofit. All members of the Sackler family, who fueled the opioid crisis through their ownership and operation of Purdue, are barred from selling opioids in the United States and will not have any involvement in the new company. Knoa Pharma will manufacture medications, including opioid products, safely and responsibly to address public health needs. It will be subject to strict oversight by an independent monitor and will be barred from lobbying and advertising its opioid products. After operating expenses, Knoa Pharma's excess revenue will be dispersed to state, local, and tribal governments and to the Knoa Foundation in support of opioid abatement.

"Under the Sacklers' control, Purdue developed, manufactured, and then misleadingly marketed its deadly opioids, destroying lives and communities across the country," said Attorney General James. "This company that put profits over people for decades is now shut down forever. In its place, Knoa Pharma will provide resources to communities to combat the opioid crisis. While nothing will ever fully repair the damage done and lives lost to the opioid crisis, ending Purdue's operations is an important step towards justice."

The end of Purdue is part of a $7.4 billion settlement with members of the Sackler family secured by Attorney General James and a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general and other parties. In the first payment, Purdue will pay approximately $900 million and the Sacklers will pay $1.5 billion. The Sacklers will then pay $500 million in May of 2027, an additional $500 million in May of 2028, and $400 million in May of 2029. The settlement will deliver funding directly to communities across the country over the next 15 years to support opioid addiction treatment, prevention, and recovery programs and ends the Sacklers' control of Purdue. On April 28, Purdue was sentenced in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on criminal charges for its role in fueling the opioid crisis.

Beginning today, Knoa Pharma will take over operations of Purdue's assets. The company will be overseen by a board of trustees that includes leaders in public health, drug policy, and philanthropy, and a board of directors that includes experts in pharmaceuticals, corporate governance, and compliance. Knoa Pharma will be barred from marketing its opioid products, lobbying, and using opioid sales metrics for compensation by a court-ordered injunction. Former Montana Attorney General and Governor Steve Bullock will continue to serve as an independent monitor of the company, ensuring it complies with the court's injunction.

With the addition of up to $250 million from the settlement with Purdue and the Sacklers, Attorney General James has secured more than $3 billion for New York state from opioid manufacturers and distributors for their role in the opioid epidemic. These include Mylan, Indivior, Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Mallinckrodt, Allergan, Endo, McKesson, Cardinal Health, and Amerisource Bergen. Attorney General James has also led multistate coalitions in reaching settlements for billions of dollars with CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart for their roles in failing to properly regulate opioid prescriptions. Additionally, Attorney General James co-led a bipartisan coalition of states in securing settlements with consulting firm McKinsey & Company and the marketing firm Publicis Health for their role in fueling the opioid crisis.

This matter was handled for New York by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy, Senior Advisor and Special Counsel M. Umair Khan, former Special Counsel David Nachman, Special Counsel Andrew Amer, Assistant Attorney General and Special Assistant to the First Deputy Gina Bull, and Special Counsel for Complex Litigation Colleen Faherty, with the support of all of the Executive Division, along with Senior Advisor to the Criminal Division Gary Fishman, former Special Counsel Eric Haren, Civil Recoveries Section Chief Martin Mooney, Assistant Attorney General Noah Popp of the Consumer Frauds Bureau, Assistant Attorney General Robert Rock of Civil Recoveries, Assistant Attorneys General Jennifer Simcovitch and Eve Wooden of the Health Care Bureau, and the indispensable contributions of the Research and Analytics Department, including the work of the Director of Research and Analytics Victoria Khan, former Senior Data Scientist Ken Morales and Data Scientist Blake Rubey, and Paige Podolny, Kristin Petrella, Hewson Chen, and Darlene Eng of the Practice Technologies Group, and Legal Support Analyst Labiba Hasan.