Sacklers Deny Personal Responsibility for Opioid Epidemic in House Hearing

[Eugene]

Source: New York Times

Sacklers Deny Personal Responsibility for Opioid Epidemic in House Hearing

It was the first time in years that members of the family that owns Purdue Pharma have taken questions publicly, and the exchanges were tense.

By Jan Hoffman
Dec. 17, 2020, 2:28 p.m. ET

Members of Congress on Thursday hurled withering comments and furious questions at two members of the billionaire Sackler family that owns Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, seeking to use a rare public appearance to extract admissions of personal responsibility for the deadly opioid epidemic as well as details about $10 billion that records show the family withdrew from the company.

The hearing, before the House Oversight Committee, offered a highly unusual opportunity for the public to hear directly from some members of the family, whose company is a defendant in thousands of federal and state lawsuits for misleading marketing of OxyContin, the painkiller seen as initiating a wave of opioid addiction that has led to the deaths of more than 450,000 Americans. Eight members of the family have been individually named in many state cases.

The singularity of the Sacklers’ appearance on Thursday was underscored by the likelihood that they may never testify in open court, because the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings and nationwide litigation may resolve in settlements rather than trials. Despite millions of dollars in legal expenses racked up by plaintiffs and Purdue alike — and the company’s subsequent filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2019 — one obstacle to resolution persists: the refusal of the Sacklers to be held personally or criminally responsible and to turn over substantial portions of their fortune.

During the tense, nearly four-hour hearing, David Sackler, 40, and his cousin, Dr. Kathe Sackler, 72, who both served on the company’s board for years, largely sidestepped would-be booby traps and deflected blame to “management” and independent, nonfamily board members.

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Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/17/health/opoids-sacklers-purdue-testimony.html

[RainCaster]

1. I'm not buying it

They may be drinking the Koolaid, but I'm not. They must be personally held liable for all the lives lost or ruined by what they did. As major shareholders and board members of the firm, they are liable for all the decisions that they make on behalf of Purdue Pharma.

I'm not a lawyer, and I don't play one on TV, this is just my opinion.

[Mosby]

2. How many scripts did purdue write?

How many scripts did walgreens, CVS, walmart, McKesson write?

Zero.

Is oxytocin still prescribed? Why?


This is about lawyers creating revenue for themselves, so they are suing everyone in the suppy chain, not just the manufacturer.

It's bullshit.

[RainCaster]

3. Purdue promised everyone up and down the supply chain that it was not addictive

They knew better, their own research showed so. Recommended dosages were planned accordingly.

Naming attorneys as revenue chasers doesn't absolve the Sacklers & Purdue of blame.

[Mosby]

4. They marketed their product like every other pharmaceutical company does.

And they deserve fines, but they have been put out of business, filed bankruptcy. Will walgrees and CVS go under? Who knows. They are being sued as well via class action. Same with distributors.

Funny how the tobacco companies Altria and rj Reynolds are still going strong, because unlike oxycontin, there is no safe amount of tobacco use, its poison. But they settled with the lawyers during a different era.