A Sackler family heir said in a court appearance that the family, which owns OxyContin drug maker Purdue Pharma, holds a “moral responsibility” to lend its help in combating the U.S. opioid crisis but noted it will not give billions of dollars to a legal settlement unless broad legal protections are provided in exchange.
A Sackler family heir said in a court appearance on Tuesday that the family, which owns OxyContin drug maker Purdue Pharma, holds a “moral responsibility” to lend its help in combating the opioid crisis in the U.S. but noted it will not give billions of dollars to a legal settlement unless broad legal protections are provided in exchange.
Just last year, deaths related to opioid overdoses reached a record of more than 70,000 in the U.S. Many blame aggressive and deceptive marketing tactics by opioid drug makers for contributing to this rising mortality.
In October 2020, Purdue agreed to an $8 billion settlement with the federal government after a multi-year criminal and civil the company’s marketing strategy, which included allegedly violating anti-kickback laws. Previously, in September 2019, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy following a $12 billion investigation into agreement with U.S. state governments.
David Sackler, an heir to Purdue’s fortunes and former board member of the company from 2012 to 2018, said in the most recent court hearing that without legal protection for his family members, he believes it “would litigate the claims to their final outcomes,” according to a report from the Associated Press.
“We need a release that’s sufficient to get our goals accomplished,” explained Sackler during the hearing. “If the release fails to do that, we will not support it.”
Nine states, the U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee, as well as the District of Columbia hold objections to Purdue’s settlement strategy, given that the approach would provide legal protection to Sackler family members.
Thousands of lawsuits have been filed against Purdue and its owners. These lawsuits claim the company’s OxyContin contributed to the ongoing opioid crisis in the U.S. Sackler family members have agreed to contribute $4 billion to settle these claims while the company seeks to reorganize.
The pause button has been hit on many suits against Purdue and the family, however, after the company filed for bankruptcy in 2019. These suits could be frozen in time forever if the company’s reorganization plan is approved, the Associated Press reports. Additionally, members of the Sackler family are looking to gain protection from additional lawsuits regarding opioids and Purdue’s actions.
Reorganization of the company would require Sackler family members to relinquish ownership, and future profits made would go toward fighting the opioid crisis. Additionally, the family will be required to contribute a $4.5 billion cash payment and give it to a charitable fund, with some of this money going to victims of the opioid crisis and their families.
To date, the estimated collective wealth of the family is approximately $11 billion, a hefty sum that’s predominantly build on OxyCotin sales. An attorney asked David Sackler in Tuesday’s hearing whether his family would have more money in 10 years after its share was paid off, to which Sackler replied, “I don’t think anyone can say that with certainty.” He added that sales from other companies owned by the family would fund many of their settlement payments.
David Sackler was also asked if Purdue had a legal responsibility for opioids and its toll on patients. Sackler responded, “We don’t believe our conduct was illegal in any way. We want to help.”
Purdue launched a reformulated version of their opioid drug that was designed to prevent the risk of patients getting a faster and stronger high. “It had been successful in reducing the incidence of nasal ingestion and abuse,” according to Sackler. “The idea of increasing sales was to take market share from non-abuse-deterrent products, thereby reducing abuse of the category and a whole and reducing opioid overdoses.”
The Associated Press reported that rather than increase sales, the market share in Purdue instead declined. In turn, overdoses from opioid analgesics continue to climb.
