Following opioid suits, family behind deadly OxyContin squabbles
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A united front among members of the billionaire Sackler family behind painkiller OxyContin is showing signs of strain from litigation over who bears responsibility for the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic. At least twice in recent months, eight members of the Sackler family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP have been at odds over how to respond to allegations implicating them in deceptive marketing of prescription painkillers that led to widespread fatal overdoses, said people familiar with the matter. The family members have split into two groups that their advisers dub the “A side” and “B side,” the people said.
One point of contention centers on how aggressively former Purdue President Richard Sackler should disavow emails he had written years earlier that maligned opioid addicts, a debate that came to a head in anticipation of a critical segment on HBO’s news satire “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.” Another disagreement surfaced over legal defense tactics, with a lawyer for one faction initially counseling against Purdue settling an Oklahoma case in favor of a bankruptcy filing that would halt lawsuits. The family dynamics will likely influence how the Sacklers resolve roughly 2,000 lawsuits by cities, counties and states alleging Purdue pushed prescription painkillers on unsuspecting doctors and patients while concealing their addiction and overdose risks.
The Sacklers, longtime philanthropists worth an estimated $13 billion, are attempting to reach a settlement covering all the litigation and will need to agree among themselves how much to pay. U.S. communities are seeking billions of dollars in damages to address harm from opioids, and settlement discussions will help determine how much money they get. The lawsuits, which in recent months have targeted the Sacklers in addition to Purdue, claim the family and company contributed to a public health crisis that claimed the lives of nearly 400,000 people between 1999 and 2017, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Family members declined to be interviewed by Reuters about their internal debates.
“In any family or business grappling with important choices, it is normal for a range of opinions to be discussed and options presented,” the two Sackler contingents said in a joint statement. “This internal discussion is necessary for reaching the right decisions in a collaborative way, and in no way signifies a split within our family,” the statement said. “The reality is that we are united in both our deep desire to help address today’s crisis of drug addiction and in our knowledge that we did not cause this complex public health crisis. We all hope to resolve the many lawsuits through a fair global resolution” that steers settlement funds to affected communities, the family’s statement added. This account of some of their deliberations is based on court records and interviews with several people close to the family’s discussions. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the conversations. Purdue declined to address the Sacklers’ private talks. It has noted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved labels for the company’s opioids that carried warnings about risk and abuse associated with treating pain. Purdue and the Sacklers have denied allegations in lawsuits that they contributed to the opioid crisis, and have pointed to heroin and fentanyl as more significant culprits than prescription painkillers.
“A SIDE” vs “B SIDE” According to court records and people familiar with the matter, the two Sackler factions each comprise relatives of the late Mortimer and Raymond Sackler, two of three brothers, all doctors, who purchased a Purdue predecessor in 1952.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-purdue-pharma-oxycontin-family-insigh/following-opioid-suits-family-behind-deadly-oxycontin-squabbles-idUSKCN1SG1P7