Purdue Pharma Tentatively Reaches Deal To Settle Opioid Lawsuit

The transcript discusses a tentative settlement deal involving Purdue Pharma and various state and municipal governments. The Sackler family, owners of Purdue, would relinquish control, and the company would file for bankruptcy, converting into a trust. The family has offered $3 billion and future drug sale revenues, with an additional $1.5 billion possible from another company sale. The settlement aims to avoid prolonged litigation, with nearly 2000 lawsuits consolidated in Cleveland. The opioid crisis has resulted in over 200,000 US deaths from 1999 to 2017.

What is the significance of the trial set to kick off in October?

How many people in the US died from overdoses related to prescription opioids between 1999 and 2017?