320亿美元和解金--普渡制药成瘾诉讼将终结

Opioid overdoses kill tens of thousands of Americans every year.

阿片类药物过量每年导致成千上万的美国人死亡。

Some of the biggest corporations accused of fueling the opioid crisis, including Johnson & Johnson and Purdue Pharma, they've been taken to court over their role.

一些被指控加剧阿片类药物危机的大公司，包括强生公司和普渡制药公司，他们因所扮演的角色而被起诉。

NPR has now learned that final settlements in those cases are expected to come down soon.

NPR现在了解到，这些案件的最终和解预计很快就会结束。

The settlements that would be worth roughly $32 billion include some controversial provisions, but the money could help a lot of people and communities struggling with addiction.

和解金额约为320亿美元，其中包括一些有争议的条款，但这笔钱可以帮助很多人和社区摆脱毒瘾的困扰。

Let's hear more about it with NPR's Brian Mann, our addiction correspondent.

NPR报道成瘾的记者布莱恩·曼为我们带来更多报道。

Brian, $32 billion sounds like a lot of money, but is it enough money to make a difference?

布莱恩，320亿美元听起来是一大笔钱，但这笔钱足以改变现状吗?

Yeah, you know, the experts I talked to say, yes, under these deals, the way they're being finalized, that money would be paid out over the next 20 years

我咨询过的专家说，根据这些协议，按照他们最终确定的方式，这笔钱将在未来20年内支付

- so a new steady stream of funding for things like drug treatment and harm-reduction programs.

这是一笔新的稳定的资金流，用于药物治疗和减少伤害项目。

And that'll save lives at a time when drug overdoses are killing record numbers of Americans, as you mentioned.

正如你所提到的，在药物过量导致无数美国人死亡的情况下，这将挽救生命。

It is important to say, though, that experts also agree this is not nearly enough money.

不过，重要的是，专家们也认为这笔钱远远不够。

Thirty-two billion-dollars is a fraction of the cost of tackling the opioid epidemic.

320亿美元只是应对阿片类药物泛滥所花费成本的一小部分。

Taxpayers are already carrying most of the burden, paying for everything from rehab programs to new law enforcement, and that's not going to change because of this.

纳税人已经承担了大部分的负担，支付从康复项目到新法律执行的一切费用，这不会因为这个而改变。

What are the companies involved in these talks accused of doing wrong?

在这些谈判中，哪些公司被指控有不当行为?

So over the last 20 years, opioid medications like OxyContin became big business, and so drugmakers like Purdue Pharma and Johnson & Johnson and also drug wholesalers got into this and made huge profits year after year.

在过去的20年里，像奥施康定这样的阿片类药物做起了大生意，像普渡制药公司和强生公司这样的制药商以及药品批发商都进入了这个行业，年复一年赚取了巨额利润。

And what they're accused of doing is pushing the use of highly addictive pain pills far more aggressively than made medical sense.

他们被指控的行为是，以远远超出医学意义的力度推动高度成瘾性止痛药的使用。

They're also accused of not having enough safeguards in place to keep these products from being abused and diverted for sale on the black market.

他们还被指控没有足够的安全措施来防止这些产品被滥用以及转移到黑市上出售。

I should say, the companies involved deny any wrongdoing.

我应该说，涉案公司否认有任何不当行为。

OK, now, which companies are close to deals?

好的，现在，哪些公司即将达成协议?

So two major deals appear to be close to the finish line.

两项重大协议似乎已接近尾声。

One is Purdue Pharma and its owners, members of the Sackler family.

其中之一是普渡制药公司及其所有者赛克勒家族成员。

They reached one deal last year worth about $4.5 billion, but a federal judge threw that out

他们去年达成了一项价值约45亿美元的协议，但是一名联邦法官否决了这一协议，

- too many states and the U.S. Justice Department objected to a provision that granted the Sacklers immunity from future lawsuits.

因为太多的州和美国司法部反对一项赋予萨克勒家族未来免于诉讼的条款。

The big news now is that the mediator involved is saying publicly that the Sacklers have sweetened their offer to a total payout of roughly $6 billion.

现在的大新闻是，参与调停的人公开表示，萨克勒家族已将支付总额提高到大约60亿美元。

A mediator says there's been significant progress getting everyone on board, but they're not quite there yet.

一名调解人表示，在让所有人都支持方面已经取得了重大进展，但他们还没有完全做到这一点。

The other big deal, which is expected to be larger and sooner, involves three big drug distributors - AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson, along with Johnson & Johnson.

另一笔协议预计规模更大、时间更短，涉及三大药品分销商——美源伯根公司、卡地纳健康集团和麦克森公司，以及强生公司。

And my sources tell me that deal, involving most state and local governments, could come as early as Friday.

我的消息来源告诉我，这项涉及大多数州和地方政府的协议最早将于周五达成。

And here again, the companies, while they're paying out lots of cash, they deny any wrongdoing.

再说一次，这些公司，虽然支付了大量现金，却否认有任何不当行为。

So are the Sacklers sticking to this demand that they be protected from any future opioid lawsuits?

那么萨克勒家族是否会坚持这样的要求，即在未来免受任何阿片类药物诉讼?

Yeah, the Sacklers have never budged from that demand, and this is the controversial piece of that negotiation.

是的，萨克勒家族从未放弃过这个要求，这是谈判中有争议的部分。

If the deal is finalized, they'll be sheltered from any future opioid lawsuits.

如果协议最终敲定，他们将免受未来任何阿片类药物诉讼的影响。

One interesting development is that there are growing calls, including from a group of U.S. senators, for criminal investigations into the Sacklers' involvement in the opioid crisis.

一个有趣的事态发展是，越来越多的人(其中包括一群美国参议员)呼吁对萨克勒家族涉及的阿片类药物危机进行刑事调查。

So far, no state or federal prosecutor's been willing to take on that fight.

到目前为止，还没有州或联邦检察官愿意参与这场斗争。

And here again, important to say, the Sacklers have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

再说一次，萨克勒家族一再否认有任何不当行为。