*

Proposed deal has not yet been reviewed by most of

Purdue's

creditors

*

Key terms of the deal to be revealed next week, attorney

says

*

Settlement will allow opt-out for those that prefer to sue

Purdue owners

By Dietrich Knauth

NEW YORK, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Purdue Pharma said on

Friday it needs more time to build support for a new $7.4

billion settlement that could complete the company's years-long

effort to resolve thousands of lawsuits over its addictive pain

medication OxyContin.

The company still needs to hammer out remaining details and

seek buy-in from states, local governments, and other creditors

that have sued the company and its Sackler family owners over

their roles in the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic.

Purdue attorney Benjamin Kaminetsky said at a court hearing

in White Plains, New York that the company is "almost there" on

a deal that was announced on Thursday by several states'

attorneys general and would propose a formal bankruptcy plan

before the end of February.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane, who is overseeing Purdue's

Chapter 11 proceedings, said the company is making concrete

progress toward a deal and approved its request to pause all

opioid lawsuits against the Sacklers at least until the end of

February.

The bankruptcy case has stopped litigation from proceeding

against the Sacklers and Purdue, since the company entered

Chapter 11 in 2019, and Lane has granted several short-term

extensions of the litigation ceasefire in recent months.

"We've been doing this for some time now, and the hope is

that we're getting toward the end," Lane said on Friday.

Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019 in the face of thousands

of lawsuits accusing it and Sackler family members of fueling

the epidemic through deceptive marketing of OxyContin. Drug

manufacturers, distributors, pharmacy operators and others have

collectively agreed to pay about $50 billion to resolve similar

lawsuits and investigations related to the U.S. opioid crisis.

The new deal, supported by 15 states, offers the company a

fresh chance to conclude its long-running bankruptcy after the

U.S. Supreme Court scuttled its previous opioid settlement. But

it faces a long and uncertain road before the settlement is

approved and funds can begin flowing to states, communities and

individuals that were harmed by the crisis.

The deal has not yet been reviewed by most of Purdue's

creditors, including the states, local governments, and

individuals that have legal claims against the Sacklers.

Key terms of the settlement will be published next week,

said David Nachman, an attorney representing New York state. The

states that negotiated the deal, including New York, California,

Texas and West Virginia, are circulating it to other states to

encourage them to support the deal.

"We have work to do to build that consensus, and we are

confident that we will be able to do so," Nachman said.

The new settlement comes seven months after the Supreme

Court ruled that the Sacklers, who did not file for bankruptcy

themselves, were not entitled to sweeping legal protections

meant to give bankrupt debtors a fresh start.

The settlement does not fully shut off lawsuits from states,

local governments, or others who would prefer to opt out of the

deal and instead sue the Sacklers, who have said they would

vigorously defend themselves in court.

The deal is not yet binding even for the 15 states that

negotiated it. West Virginia currently supports the deal, but it

retains the ability to opt out and litigate separately,

according to a spokesman for attorney general John McCuskey.

Lane said creditors, including individuals who were

personally harmed by the opioid crisis, will need to be patient

as the settlement develops.

"People need to know what benefits the bankruptcy case can

bring them before they decide whether other options are the best

way to proceed," Lane said.