The pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma is reported to be discussions to settle thousands of opioid lawsuits for between $10-12 billion.
Purdue Pharma - which makes the painkiller OxyContin - is among several drugmakers that have been sued for fueling an opioid addiction crisis in the United States, which has claimed 400,000 lives from 1999 to 2017.
RNZ reporter in Washingtonis Kate Fisher has the details.
