In the latest twist in its efforts to wrap up years of high-profile opioid litigation, the billionaire family behind the now-bankrupt Purdue Pharma, the Sacklers, has come back from last year’s Supreme Court ruling with a new settlement offer that ups the ante.

Last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a multibillion-dollar bankruptcy agreement that would have given the Sacklers immunity from civil lawsuits. In that deal, which took several years to reach, the Sacklers pledged to pay states, local governments and individual victims of the opioid crisis a total settlement of $6 billion.

In the newest plan, the Sacklers agreed to pay up to $6.5 billion over 15 years, while Purdue would contribute nearly $900 million. If approved in court, the settlement would fund opioid addiction treatment, prevention and recovery programs in communities across the country, Pennsylvania Attorney General David Sunday noted in a press release.

“No dollar amount could ever replace what has been lost due to the opioid epidemic, but this settlement will go a long way in bolstering treatment resources and helping Pennsylvanians achieve recovery,” Sunday said. “This epidemic, no doubt, was fueled by Purdue Pharma’s manufacturing and deceptive marketing of OxyContin, a highly potent and addictive drug.”

The specific terms require the Sacklers to pay $1.5 billion in an initial payment plus $500 million after one year, another $500 million after two years and $400 million after three years, according to Sunday. Purdue is to make its entire contribution in the first payment.

As of now, states confirmed to be on board with the deal include New York, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia, along with Pennsylvania.

The deal would also end the Sacklers’ control of Purdue. The fate of the company itself, which remains in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since filing in 2019, will be determined by a board of trustees selected by participating states.

The Sacklers’ controversial fight for immunity from future civil lawsuits hinged on the family using Purdue’s bankruptcy as its own legal protection. While that legal maneuver hit a snag in the Supreme Court last year, the newly proposed settlement includes a unique catch that could potentially help ease the blow of the future litigation.

Claimants involved in the deal would have to set aside as much as $800 million in an account that acts as a legal defense fund for the family to use in fighting future cases, The New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the negotiations. In other words, such a fund would boil down to claimants using part of their legal earnings to pay for the Sacklers’ defense against other claimants.

Nonetheless, a $7.4 billion settlement would represent the U.S.’ largest opioid-related settlement with individuals to date. As for drug companies, Teva in 2022 proposed its own $4.25 billion multistate settlement, while Indivior recently struck an $86 million agreement, to name a few. 

Consulting firm McKinsey, which was accused of helping Purdue boost its OxyContin sales, recently agreed to fork over $650 million to settle with the U.S. Department of Justice.