Sackler family dispute over responsibility for opioid crisis

Sackler family dispute over responsibility for opioid crisis

On February 15, 2024, legal filings and testimony related to bankruptcy proceedings involving Purdue Pharma revealed internal divisions within the Sackler family regarding responsibility for the opioid crisis in the United States. Members of the family, who owned Purdue Pharma, faced scrutiny over the company’s role in the marketing and distribution of the prescription opioid OxyContin. Court records showed disagreements among relatives about decisions made during the expansion of opioid sales beginning in the late 1990s.

Purdue Pharma introduced OxyContin in 1996 and promoted the drug to physicians as a treatment for moderate to severe pain. Over the following decades, the medication became widely prescribed across the United States and other countries. Government investigations and lawsuits later alleged that marketing practices downplayed addiction risks and encouraged increased prescribing. By the early 2020s, thousands of lawsuits had been filed by U.S. states, municipalities, and individuals seeking damages related to opioid addiction and overdose deaths.

During bankruptcy proceedings in federal court, documents and statements from family members indicated disputes over who within the Sackler family directed the company’s marketing strategies and financial decisions. Negotiations involving the U.S. Department of Justice, state attorneys general, and other claimants sought a multibillion-dollar settlement funded partly by the Sackler family to address opioid addiction treatment and prevention programs. The legal process continued as courts evaluated settlement structures and liability claims connected to the nationwide opioid crisis.