Family made billions on opioid as crisis raged, filing says | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
Subscribe

Would you like to subscribe to our newsletter?

Current Conditions Light Rainshower  6.8°C

Family made billions on opioid as crisis raged, filing says

FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2018 file photo, family and friends who have lost loved ones to OxyContin and opioid overdoses protest outside Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Conn. The attorney general's office in Massachusetts is suing Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma, along with some company executives and members of the family that owns it in an effort to hold them accountable for the toll of the drug crisis in the state. On Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019, the company lost a legal battle to keep some parts of the lawsuit confidential. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)

BOSTON - Newly public court documents show the family behind OxyContin raked in billions as they pushed to keep patients on the powerful painkiller longer, even as evidence grew that the drug was helping fuel a national opioid crisis.

Details made public this week in a lawsuit filed by the state of Massachusetts against Purdue Pharma and the family that owns the company claim the Sackler family brought in more than $4 billion in a little more than a decade.

The state says the company used discounts to keep people taking its drugs longer despite their risks.

The allegations were made in a lawsuit filed last year. Purdue lost its fight this week to keep some of the allegations secret. The company says the state is taking documents out of context.

News from © The Associated Press, 2019
The Associated Press

  • Popular penticton News
View Site in: Desktop | Mobile