San Mateo County is set to receive millions of dollars from a settlement with the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma, a drug manufacturing company that fueled the nation’s opioid epidemic.
Purdue Pharma, which was owned by the Sackler family, brought the highly addictive prescription pain killer OxyContin to the market in 1996. From 1999 to 2023, more than 800,000 people in the United States died from opioid overdose, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The company generated $35 billion in revenue since introducing OxyContin, according to a congressional hearing with David and Kathe Sackler in 2020.
In 2019, Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy following thousands of lawsuits against the company regarding its role in the opioid crisis. When the Sackler family sought personal immunity from future opioid-related lawsuits during the 2019 bankruptcy proceedings, San Mateo County was one of the plaintiffs that opposed these protections.
In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a proposed settlement that would have granted sweeping immunity to the Sackler’s. A final settlement of $7.4 billion was reached in January 2025 after further negotiations.
“While no financial recovery can repair the loss of life, or erase the pain experienced by families, this funding helps ensure those responsible contribute to the solutions our community needs,”
Colleen Chawla, San Mateo County Health
A federal bankruptcy court judge approved Purdue Pharma’s settlement plans in November.
Under the agreement, San Mateo County will receive an estimated $3.3 million in additional opioid remediation funds from the Sacklers over multiple years, plus $1.5 million from the Purdue bankruptcy estate. In total, the current and projected opioid settlement funding for the county is around $49 million.
The money will go toward addiction prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery efforts, according to the county.
To date, settlement funding has supported local initiatives such as improving access to overdose reversal medications, increasing treatment and recovery resources at the San Mateo Medical Center, expanding addiction treatment in county jails, and supporting services at the Redwood City Navigation Center homeless shelter.
“While no financial recovery can repair the loss of life, or erase the pain experienced by families, this funding helps ensure those responsible contribute to the solutions our community needs,” said San Mateo County Health Chief Colleen Chawla in a statement. “These funds will help us deliver essential, life-saving services, and ensure our response remains grounded in compassion, equity, and accountability.”