BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz is among those keeping a close eye on the "active settlement talks" between attorneys representing local governments and Purdue Pharma.
Purdue Pharma is the maker of the painkiller OxyContin, the common drug at the center of the opioid epidemic in the United States. Close to 2,000 local governments, including Erie County, have sued the drugmaker. Erie County filed their lawsuit against the pharmaceutical company in February of 2017. The settlement talks come in the wake of a recent decision on Monday for Johnson & Johnson that will force the company to pay $572 million.
"(That) would be unacceptable in my view," Poloncarz said.
A settlement would mean an acknowledgement from Purdue Pharma about the harm they created, according to Poloncarz.
"We still are in the middle of fighting the opioid epidemic," he said. "We're seeing positive numbers in regards to deaths and overdoses. I think the worst is past us now but that's not to say people are not dying because they are. If we did receive funding as a result of a settlement with Purdue, that money would go to assist individuals currently who are dealing with addiction and to prevent others from being addicted in the first place."
READ MORE: Opioid deaths continue to decline in Erie County
As of July, there were 49 confirmed people who died of an opioid overdose in 2019. The worst year of the opioid epidemic was 2016, when 301 people died.
