Purdue Pharma Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Purdue Pharma Conducted Massive Probe Of The Sackler Family, But The Findings Are Secret

By NPR News March 19, 2021

Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Conn., in 2019. Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, and its owners, the Sackler family, have faced hundreds of lawsuits over the company's alleged role in the opioid epidemic that has killed more than 200,000 Americans. CREDIT: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Purdue Pharma, the maker of Oxycontin, conducted what may be the most extensive investigation yet of the Sackler family, exploring whether they committed crimes or financial improprieties, but the company has kept most of its findings secret.Read More

Purdue Pharma Reaches $8B Opioid Deal With Justice Department Over OxyContin Sales

By NPR News October 21, 2020

Critics say the settlement doesn't hold company executives or members of the Sackler family accountable for their aggressive marketing of OxyContin, which helped fuel the nation's opioid epidemic.Read More

In 2019, The Legal Fight Over Opioids Unraveled Into Confusion And Infighting

By NPR News December 28, 2019

Millions of Americans sank into addiction after using potent opioid painkillers, such as acetaminophen/oxycodone, that companies churned out and doctors freely prescribed over the past two decades. CREDIT: Eric Baradat /AFP via Getty Images

This was meant to be the year we answered a big question about the deadly opioid epidemic: Will drug companies that make and sell prescription pain medications be held liable? That clarity never came.Read More

Sacklers Withdrew Nearly $11 Billion From Purdue As Opioid Crisis Mounted

By NPR News December 17, 2019

Tufts University stripped the Sackler name from several of its buildings and divisions earlier this month, citing the billionaire family's role in the opioid crisis. The founders of Purdue Pharma have come under intense scrutiny for how their company misled doctors and patients about the addictiveness of its signature medication. Steven Senne/AP

According to a court filing Monday, the family pulled about $10.7 billion from Purdue since 2008 — ramping up withdrawals even after executives pleaded guilty to misleading regulators about OxyContin.Read More

New York AG Says Sacklers Transferred $1B From Purdue Pharma Accounts To Themselves

By NPR News September 14, 2019

Members of P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) and Truth Pharm staged a protest on Thursday outside Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Conn., over its recent controversial opioid settlement. CREDIT: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

The revelation comes after almost two dozen states reached a tentative settlement with the maker of OxyContin.Read More

Several Drug Companies Considering Large Settlements To Resolve Opioid Suits

By NPR News August 28, 2019

Purdue Pharma and other health care giants are discussing potential deals with authorities that could resolve thousands of lawsuits they're facing over the U.S. opioid epidemic. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Confronted with a torrent of lawsuits across the U.S., several major drug companies are in discussions with authorities to resolve thousands of opioid-related suits filed against them. A government source close to the negotiations tells NPR that Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, Endo International and Allergan are looking to cut deals.Read More

States Sue Drugmakers Over Alleged Generic-Price-Fixing Scheme

By NPR News May 14, 2019

An assortment of drugs. CREDIT: Jose A. Bernat Bacete/Getty Images

The lawsuit alleges that sometimes one company would decide to raise prices on a particular drug, and other companies would follow suit. Other times, companies would agree to divide up the market rather than competing for market share by lowering prices.Read More

Opioid Manufacturers Sued By Washington State Get To Keep Their Big Tax Break

By Austin Jenkins May 13, 2019

File photo. Distributors of opioids and other prescription drugs in Washington kept their better-than-Boeing tax break this year, despite a lawsuit against the industry's three largest players. CREDIT: Kevin Mooney/N3

At the same time Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is suing three Fortune 15 pharmaceutical distributors for allegedly “fueling the state’s opioid epidemic,” majority Democrats in the Washington Legislature this year left intact a generous tax break for distributors of opioids and other prescription drugs while raising taxes on other business sectors.Read More

Lawsuit Details How The Sackler Family Allegedly Built An OxyContin Fortune

By NPR News February 1, 2019

The Massachusetts attorney general alleges that the family behind Purdue Pharma knew that OxyContin was causing overdoses, yet continued to cash in. New documents in the case were released Thursday.Read More

Drugmakers Spent Millions Promoting Opioids To Patient Groups, Senate Report Says

By NPR News February 13, 2018

The report released by Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill says the cozy relationship between pain advocacy groups and pharmaceutical companies may have played a key role in the opioid crisis.Read More