美国国家公共电台 NPR 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 addiction¹.

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 finalized², 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 killing³ 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 epidemic⁴.

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。

Taxpayers⁵ 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 addictive⁶ 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 immunity⁷ from future lawsuits⁸.

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 mediator⁹ 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, Cardinal¹⁰ 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 budged¹¹ from that demand, and this is the controversial piece of that negotiation¹².

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 investigations¹³ 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。

1 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

2 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

5 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

6 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。

7 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

8 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

9 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

10 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

11 budged   

v.（使）稍微移动( budge的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）改变主意，（使）让步

参考例句：

• Old Bosc had never budged an inch--he was totally indifferent. 老包斯克一直连动也没有动，他全然无所谓。 来自辞典例句
• Nobody budged you an inch. 别人一丁点儿都算计不了你。 来自辞典例句

12 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

13 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。