Secret Court Document Reveals Sackler Agreed With Plan To Downplay Potency Of OxyContin To Doctors
ProPublica and Stat obtained the sealed court deposition of Dr. Richard Sackler taken as part of a lawsuit by the state of Kentucky against Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin. The deposition is believed to be the only time a member of the Sackler family has been questioned under oath about the marketing practices of OxyContin. Purdue has fought a three-year legal battle to keep the deposition and hundreds of other evidence secret, in a case brought by Stat. Through the documents, Sackler's investment in the success of OxyContin is clear: “It is almost that I dedicated my life to it," he wrote in an email cited by the court documents.
ProPublica/Stat:
Sackler Embraced Plan to Conceal OxyContin’s Strength From Doctors, Sealed Testimony Shows
In May 1997, the year after Purdue Pharma launched OxyContin, its head of sales and marketing sought input on a key decision from Dr. Richard Sackler, a member of the billionaire family that founded and controls the company. Michael Friedman told Sackler that he didn’t want to correct the false impression among doctors that OxyContin was weaker than morphine, because the myth was boosting prescriptions — and sales. “It would be extremely dangerous at this early stage in the life of the product,” Friedman wrote to Sackler, “to make physicians think the drug is stronger or equal to morphine….We are well aware of the view held by many physicians that oxycodone [the active ingredient in OxyContin] is weaker than morphine. I do not plan to do anything about that.” “I agree with you,” Sackler responded. “Is there a general agreement, or are there some holdouts?” Ten years later, Purdue pleaded guilty in federal court to understating the risk of addiction to OxyContin, including failing to alert doctors that it was a stronger painkiller than morphine, and agreed to pay $600 million in fines and penalties. But Sackler’s support of the decision to conceal OxyContin’s strength from doctors — in email exchanges both with Friedman and another company executive — was not made public. (Armstrong, 2/21)
The New York Times:
Sackler Testimony Appears To Conflict With Federal Investigation
A member of the family that owns the manufacturer of OxyContin repeatedly gave testimony in a lawsuit that conflicts with details in a report by federal prosecutors, newly disclosed court papers indicate. Dr. Richard Sackler, who was once president of the company, Purdue Pharma, and is the son of one of its founders, said under oath during a pretrial deposition that he first learned from a Maine newspaper article in 2000 that OxyContin, a powerful opioid painkiller, was being abused. His statement contradicts evidence in a confidential Justice Department report from 2006 that came to light last year. (Meier, 2/21)
The Wall Street Journal:
Purdue Family Member Sought To Avoid Comparison Of OxyContin To Morphine, Documents Show
Richard Sackler, a former Purdue Pharma LP executive and member of the company’s controlling family, worked to ensure its top-selling pain medication OxyContin didn’t develop the end-of-life reputation of morphine because it could jeopardize sales, newly unveiled court documents show. The release of a 2015 deposition of Mr. Sackler sheds new light on Purdue’s attempts to market its signature drug as appropriate for a broad range of pain management, despite being twice as potent as morphine. The deposition, part of a now-resolved case in Kentucky, is a rare instance in which Sackler family members speaking directly about their role at Purdue has become public. (Randazzo and Hopkins, 2/21)
The Hill:
Purdue Exec Agreed To Hide OxyContin Strength From Doctors: Report
"During the deposition, Dr. Sackler described Purdue’s efforts to adhere to all relevant laws and regulations" Purdue Pharma spokesperson Bob Josephson said in a statement to The Hill. "Dr. Sackler’s statements in the deposition fully acknowledge the wrongful actions taken by some of Purdue’s employees prior to 2002 as laid out in the 2007 Agreed Statement of Facts with the Department of Justice, and that the company has accepted full responsibility for those actions." (Frazin, 2/21)
ProPublica/Stat:
What You Should Know About Richard Sackler’s Long-Sought Deposition
STAT and ProPublica have published the long-sought deposition of Dr. Richard Sackler, a member of the billionaire family that founded and controls Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin. Here are answers to some questions about the document. (Gil, 2/21)
Stat:
Intensely Private, Deeply Invested: Richard Sackler’s Role In Promoting OxyContin Emerges In Court Documents
He is one of the most elusive yet notorious figures in medicine. He is so private that few public photographs of him exist. And for years, he and his lawyers have rebuffed efforts to unearth details about his role in building the colossus of OxyContin, the opioid painkiller. But newly disclosed documents provide a glimpse into the mindset and decision-making of Dr. Richard Sackler, the onetime chief executive of Purdue Pharma and a key member of the family that controls the company. (Joseph, 2/22)
