The Sackler family agreed to pay as much as $6 billion

Sackler family to pay up to $6 billion in exchange for protection from civil suits

The Sackler family members who own Purdue Pharma have agreed to a $6 billion bankruptcy settlement over the company's role in the opioid crisis.

The agreement brought holdout states on board, and would settle thousands of lawsuits over the company’s and family’s roles in the opioid epidemic. The Sacklers agreed to pay an extra $1 billion.

Purdue Pharma reached a nationwide settlement Thursday over its role in the opioid crisis, with the Sackler family members who own the company boosting their cash contribution to as much as $6 billion in a deal intended to staunch a flood of lawsuits facing the maker of OxyContin.

Members of the Sackler family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma will get protection from lawsuits for another three weeks, a judge said Wednesday, buying more time to work out a settlement of thousands of legal claims against the company over the toll of opioids.