Purdue Pharma
The Sackler family, which profited off the epidemic with the painkiller OxyContin, is seeking to settle thousands of lawsuits in exchange for future legal immunity.
The owners of Purdue Pharma may soon be immune to future litigation over their role in the opioid epidemic under a bankruptcy plan advanced by a federal judge.
“I’m not sure that I’m aware of any family in America that’s more evil than yours,” Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) said.
The Sackler name — now synonymous with the opioid epidemic — is “inconsistent with our institution’s values," the school said.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Federal officials had the power to put key figures in the opioid crisis behind bars but didn't, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said.
The company helped fuel the opioid crisis through aggressive marketing of its powerful painkiller.
The family received $4.1 billion in cash between 2008 and 2017 after the company was fined for misleading the public about OxyContin's addiction risks.
The Boston area school said it would not return donations from the billionaire family.
Mundipharma, a drug company owned by the Sackler family, used false claims to push the opioid in China.
The Sacklers, the family behind OxyContin, allegedly wired around a billion dollars to their own bank accounts while defending their role in the opioid crisis.