Sackler Family Fights Back Against Allegations of Purdue Pharma’s Involvement in the Opioid Crisis

Facing multiple lawsuits, the Sackler family has asked for the dismissal of one particular case filed in Massachusetts that claims that their company, Purdue Pharma, fueled the opioid epidemic. The Sackler family argued that the claim relies on false assertions that it considers “misleading and inflammatory”.

According to the motion delivered to Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, the lawsuit takes internal company emails out of context in alleging that the Sackler family and Purdue deserve accountability for the addiction and deaths caused by opioids throughout the country.

Sackler family members released a statement saying: “We are confident the court will look past the inflammatory media coverage generated by the misleading complaint and apply the law fairly by dismissing all of these claims.”

Healey’s lawsuit, filed in June 2018, says that individual members of the Sackler family engaged in acts of deception and misconduct to make as much money as possible from sales of OxyContin, which is a powerful prescription opioid used as a painkiller.

Healey accuses the family of disregarding addiction and safety in the name of profit. The members of the family allegedly directed sales representatives to push high doses of the drug while knowing its potential dangers.

“Our complaint makes clear the role that Purdue’s executives and directors played in creating and profiting from the opioid crisis,” Healey said in a statement. “Their motions are an attempt to avoid accountability. We will continue our work to expose the conduct that hurt so many families in Massachusetts.”

In defense, the family said that their company simply acted in a routine way for members of a corporate board. They reviewed voluminous documents, including budget presentations, spreadsheets, and reports about Purdue’s nationwide operations. Click the link to see Bakersfield's top rehab placement programs.

“Not a single document shows an Individual Director engaging in any unlawful conduct regarding the sale of prescription opioids or ordering anyone else to do so,” said the Sackler family.

The Sacklers’ lawyers also claim that portions of emails Healey used to show allegedly egregious conduct were taken out of context. Therefore they do not reflect what she claims in the lawsuit. The lawsuit argues that at an OxyContin launch party in 1996, Richard Sackler told the crowd to compare the number of prescriptions to a blizzard. “The launch of OxyContin tablets will be followed by a blizzard of prescriptions that will bury the competition,” Healey alleges Sackler said, according to an email quoted in the documents.

The Sacklers claim that the remarks were referencing his “delayed arrival at that event due to the well-known Blizzard of 1996.”

The Sackler family is facing increased scrutiny and legal claims surrounding their alleged role in the opioid crisis, which is killing thousands of Americans each year. Purdue Pharma made billions of dollars in the past two decades as its popular opioids were heavily prescribed. Many of the company’s pills were diverted to the black market.

The New York attorney general claimed in a lawsuit filed earlier that the Sackler family steered hundreds of millions of dollars away from Purdue into personal offshore accounts.

Meanwhile, the members of the Sackler family paid $75 million in personal funds as part of a $270 million out-of-court settlement between Purdue and the Oklahoma attorney general last week. The Sacklers were not personally named as defendants in that case.

If someone in the family is struggling with opioid addiction, it is important to seek help. A combination of medical detox and behavioral therapy can go a long way in the fight against drug abuse. But because every individual is affected by addiction differently, a comprehensive program tailored to their specific needs is necessary. Look for a nearby addiction treatment facility today and find out how drug treatment programs work.