The Sackler family will reportedly give up ownership of Purdue Pharma and pay $3 billion (£2.4 bn) of their own money under a tentative agreement to settle a string of lawsuits accusing the company of fuelling America's opioid crisis.

The Sackler family, which was estimated to be worth $13 billion in March, is currently considering the court settlement which could reach as much as $10 to $12 billion in total, according to US media reports.

Under the terms of the agreement, Purdue Pharma would reportedly file for bankruptcy and become a public beneficiary trust that would provide addiction treatment drugs to the public at no cost.

It would also mean the profits from all drug sales, including opioid painkillers, would go to the plaintiffs.

The settlement would bring an end to thousands of lawsuits against Purdue Pharma, whose prescription painkiller OxyContin is blamed for much of the US opioid addiction epidemic.

The Sackler family, which would no longer be involved with the company, would also personally contribute $3 billion to the settlement and a further $1.5 billion from the sale of another drug company they own, Mundipharma.