Sacklers made up to $13 billion in profits from Purdue Pharma
pharmafile | October 7, 2019 | News story | Sales and Marketing |
New court records filed in Purdue Pharma’s ongoing bankruptcy case show that the owners, the Sackler family, received $12 billion to $13 billion in profits even as sales of the company’s opioid drug OxyContin declined.
Earlier this year, Massachusetts’ Attorney General alleged that the Sacklers received more than $4 billion from Purdue between 2008 and 2016.
Last month Purdue Pharma declared bankruptcy as part of a tentative deal to settle much of its opioid litigation in multiple US states, with Purdue stating that it would provide more than $10 billion to address the opioid crisis with the Sacklers themselves contributing at least $3 billion.
Currently speaking, no member of the Sackler family remains on Purdue’s board nor holds any position at the drug marker any longer.
Purdue has since asked a US bankruptcy judge to pause more than 2,600 lawsuits against the company while they negotiate settlements and additionally is also looking to shield the Sacklers from any related opioid litigation.
Since OxyContin was released in 1996, addiction and overdoses have increased dramatically, as in 2017 and 2018 opioids were involved in over 47,000 deaths according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On Friday, in a separate report, attorney generals for several US states, including Massachusetts and Pennsylvania said they would oppose Purdue’s filing seeking to halt all opioid litigation.
Furthermore, 24 states are also opposing the company’s request to pay more than $34 million in bonuses to certain employees during its bankruptcy proceedings.
Purdue Pharma has previously agreed to pay $270 million to settle an OxyContin-related lawsuit in Oklahoma.
Nik Kiran
