Oklahoma's 2019 opioid settlement is funding new addiction research labs in Tulsa. The project is an estimated $28 million office-and-laboratory buildout led by the settlement-created foundation. The foundation is the National Center for Addiction Studies and Treatment, or NCAST. It was endowed from settlement money to support addiction studies, treatment and education.
Official resources:
- Read the official guidance from Oklahoma — Use this primary source to verify the official guidance.
- Read the official notice from Tulsaflyer — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
Table of Contents
- Where did the Tulsa lab money come from?
- Why is NCAST now independent?
- What is being built in Tulsa?
- Does this settlement pay individual claims?
Where did the Tulsa lab money come from?
Oklahoma settled opioid claims against Purdue Pharma and the Sackler families in March 2019 for $270 million. Oklahoma State University said in its settlement announcement that nearly $200 million was endowed to create an addiction research and treatment center at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa.
That center became NCAST. It was initially housed in the OSU Center for Health Sciences' Center for Wellness and Recovery in Tulsa to promote addiction studies, treatment and education.
Why is NCAST now independent?
NCAST formally spun off from the OSU Center for Health Sciences and became an independent foundation. The Oklahoma Attorney General's Office said in its spin-off announcement that the agreement was finalized Sept. 26, 2025 and mediated by Attorney General Gentner Drummond.
The split transferred staff, laboratory plans and a library of experimental molecules to the new foundation. Purdue had granted the OSU center access to research molecules, associated data and intellectual-property rights in Aug. 2019 to accelerate addiction-treatment discovery.
What is being built in Tulsa?
NCAST CEO Don Kyle, a former Purdue Pharma researcher, is leading the Tulsa office-and-laboratory buildout intended to put the foundation on the national addiction-research stage. The plan centers on 16 prefabricated modular laboratories from Art's-Way Scientific costing $10.5 million.
Wisevoter, relaying Tulsa reporting, describes in its construction update laboratories expected to last 50 years and house 17 staff and 20,000 experimental molecules transferred in the split. The business plan funds future operations by selling developed intellectual property to drugmakers through milestone payments.
Does this settlement pay individual claims?
This project does not pay individual checks or open a consumer claim filing. It directs settlement funds to local research capacity for Tulsa-area patients, physicians and addiction researchers. For readers tracking consumer compensation, the practical points are: Modular units are to be delivered in early 2026, with completion expected in 2027, and NCAST reported finite $201 million in 2024 tax-filing assets.
- Expect research benefits, not payouts, from this Tulsa construction.
- Treat new treatments as prospective until the labs open and studies produce results.
- Follow treatment options through a local physician rather than a settlement administrator.