Purdue Pharma Not to be Blamed for US Opioid Crisis

Richard Sackler, the former president of Purdue Pharma, said in a federal bankruptcy case on Wednesday that he believes his family and the OxyContin producer share no blame for the opioid problem in the United States. An attorney for the state of Washington frequently pressed him on whether he, his family, or the firm were to blame for the disaster. “No,” Sackler said all three times. If the proposed agreement is authorised by a federal judge.

The drug maker might pay out over $4 billion to dozens of states and municipalities, as well as thousands of opioid epidemic victims who filed claims. Attorneys for around ten states and other claimants are continuing to dispute the proposed settlement arrangement before Federal Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in New York. When asked how many people died as a result of using Oxycontin on Wednesday, Sackler, 76, replied he didn’t know.

“You didn’t think it was important in your job as chair or president of an opioid corporation to determine how many individuals had died as a result of the use of the product?” Maryland Assistant Attorney General Brian Edmunds asked. That amount, according to Sackler, was not computed. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 500,000 people died from an overdose involving any opioid, including prescription and illegal opioids, between 1999 and 2019.

According to his testimony, Sackler is the last living child of Raymond Sackler, who established the family’s legacy at Purdue Pharma alongside his family members. Richard Sackler, who served as a director, co-chairman, and president of Purdue Pharma from 1990 to 2018, spoke on Wednesday during a confirmation hearing for the opioid manufacturer’s prospective approval of a Chapter 11 plan.