The Case of Purdue Pharma, the Sackler Family, and the Opioid Crisis

In the first of two short posts today, we will look at the case of the billionaire Sackler Family and their remarkable effect upon American society. The family, who own Purdue Pharma amongst a list of other ventures, have this week seen a massive legal action taken against them by the State of New York who argue that the company is ‘responsible for the opioid epidemic’ sweeping through the United States.

The attorney-general for New York has called the lawsuit the ‘nation’s most extensive’ with respect to the pharmaceutical industry and comes right on the heels of a $270 million suit that was settled in the State of Oklahoma on exactly the same grounds. Whilst the company and the billionaire family who own it did not admit guilt (settling parties rarely do, hence why they settle outside of court) it has potentially opened the trapdoors for litigation. It comes as no surprise then that the company is reportedly considering bankruptcy proceedings in the face of such an onslaught.

The company, which began life as the Purdue Frederick Company in Manhattan in 1892, was bought by the Sackler family in 1952 by Dr Raymond and Dr Mortimer Sackler. In the 1980s the company began manufacturing products that were derivatives of opioids, like morphine. In 1996, this programme is extended and the company develops ‘OxyContin’, or ‘oxycodene’ in an ‘extended release’ format. In 2005 the company begins developing increased security around OxyContin which is demonstrative of their understanding of the market for these drugs, and in 2010 OxyContin is redeveloped to include extra warnings over its usage. Nevertheless, the sale of what has been called ‘heroin in a pill’, has become a societal ill unlike many others (at least one that is officially sold to the public). The National Institute of Drug Abuse states that more than 130 people die every day after overdosing on opioids, whilst the Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency in 2017 and themselves estimate that more than 11 million people misused prescription opioids in 2017 alone.

The scale of the disaster is tremendous and the opening of extensive lawsuits will likely see the end of Purdue Pharma and its competition. However, that is probably wishful thinking. The reality is that the people behind the company will not suffer or be penalised, the systems they developed where salespeople were paid six-figure bonuses for misleading Doctors will not be regulated, and moreover there is scope for the companies to make even more money. Rather remarkably, it has been revealed that not only do Purdue have massive stakes in other more generalised opioid products, they are now busy marketing and aggressively pushing the cure to the social problem they themselves exacerbated! It is all rather remarkable but not in the least bit surprising – that big business is encouraged to act in this manner at the cost of the public is a systemic norm that has been accepted. One would like to think the New York lawsuit would cause damage to the operations of the firm and the family, but considering the fact the cure is raking in billions of dollars, it is very unlikely.

Keywords – Pharmaceuticals, US, Opioid crisis, business, law, @finregmatters