Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, is offering to settle more than 2,000 lawsuits brought by states, cities and counties against the company for $10 billion to $12 billion, NBC News reported Tuesday.

The lawsuits claim Purdue and its owners, the Sackler family, are responsible for beginning and sustaining the opioid crisis.

The offer was part of confidential talks in which at least 10 state attorneys general and Purdue Pharma's lawyers gathered in Cleveland last week, according to two people familiar with the potential deal.

The lawsuits allege Purdue Pharma's sales practices were deceptive and at least partly responsible for the opioid crisis, during which more than 400,000 people died from 1999 to 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The Sackler family built a multibillion-dollar drug empire based on addiction," New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in May when his state joined others in bringing the suit.

Purdue Pharma, which has denied the allegations, told NBC News, while it "is prepared to defend itself vigorously in the opioid litigation, the company has made clear that it sees little good coming from years of wasteful litigation and appeals."

The company's statement added: "The people and communities affected by the opioid crisis need help now. Purdue believes a constructive global resolution is the best path forward, and the company is actively working with the state attorneys general and other plaintiffs to achieve this outcome."

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