Governor says 2025 agreement moved most opioid settlement assets beyond public oversight; attorney general previously described the separation as a benefit for both organizations.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Gov. Kevin Stitt is accusing Attorney General Gentner Drummond of negotiating an agreement that removed most of Oklahoma’s Purdue Pharma opioid settlement assets from public oversight, the latest public clash in the long-running political rivalry between the two Republicans.
At issue is a September 2025 agreement separating Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences from the National Center for Addiction Studies and Treatment (NCAST), the research organization created through Oklahoma’s landmark 2019 Purdue Pharma settlement.
Stitt argued in a social media post Thursday that the agreement left a private foundation in control of roughly $180 million in settlement assets while removing oversight by public officials.
“Oklahomans were told that the Purdue settlement would serve the state’s fight against the opioid crisis through an OSU-connected institution,” Stitt wrote. “Instead, six years later, those funds were redirected to third-party control facilitated by the state’s chief legal officer and unaccountable to any public institution or elected body.”
The agreement received relatively little public attention when it was announced last fall but has become a point of contention as Stitt questions whether the restructuring reduced public oversight of the settlement.
The dispute marks the latest public clash between Stitt and Drummond, whose political relationship has grown increasingly contentious since Drummond launched his campaign to succeed the term-limited governor.
A different explanation last year
When the agreement was originally announced in October 2025, however, Drummond’s office presented it far differently.
The attorney general said he had mediated an agreement allowing the two organizations to pursue separate missions while avoiding litigation. Under that arrangement, OSU Center for Health Sciences would concentrate on addiction treatment, clinical care and training healthcare professionals, while NCAST would continue research into non-addictive pain medications, overdose reversal drugs and related therapies.
At the time, Drummond called the agreement a “win-win” for Oklahoma.
OSU Center for Health Sciences President Johnny Stephens also praised the separation, saying it would allow the university to deepen its focus on patient care and education. NCAST Chairman Tucker Link likewise described the agreement as an opportunity to advance public health.
Questions remain
The renewed political dispute raises broader questions about how Oklahoma’s Purdue settlement is governed today.
Former Attorney General Mike Hunter announced the state’s $270 million settlement with Purdue Pharma in 2019. Much of the settlement was dedicated to addiction research and treatment through an entity created as part of the settlement.
The precise governance changes made under the 2025 separation agreement have now become a point of political disagreement.
Stitt contends the agreement shifted roughly $180 million in settlement assets outside meaningful public oversight.
Drummond’s office, by contrast, previously characterized the agreement as resolving differences between the university and the research organization while allowing each to focus on distinct missions.
The attorney general’s office referred media inquiries this week to its October 2025 announcement explaining the agreement.
The full separation agreement was not immediately available for review, leaving unanswered questions about the precise governance changes made by the agreement, what oversight remains over the settlement assets and how responsibilities were divided between the university and NCAST.
