The Justice Department reached an $8.34 billion settlement with OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma LP, the agency said Wednesday, helping clear the way for the bankrupt drugmaker to turn over future profits to cities and states that accuse it of fueling the opioid crisis.
The settlement resolves yearslong criminal and civil probes by federal prosecutors into Purdue’s marketing and distribution of powerful opioid painkillers. The final price tag for Purdue, however, is largely symbolic: Because the company’s assets fall well short…
