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Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty on Tuesday to three criminal charges, officially admitting its role in an opioid epidemic that has contributed to hundreds of thousands of deaths over the past two decades.
In a virtual hearing with a federal judge in Newark, New Jersey, the maker of OxyContin admitted to hampering efforts by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration to combat the drug crisis. Purdue admitted that she had not maintained an effective program to prevent prescription drugs from being diverted to the black market, even though she had told the DEA that she had such a program, and that she had provided misleading information to the agency as a way to boost companies’ manufacturing quotas.
He also admitted to paying doctors through a speaker program to get them to write more prescriptions for his pain relievers.
And he admitted to paying an electronic medical records company to send doctors information about patients who encouraged them to prescribe opioids.
The guilty pleas were entered by Purdue Chairman of the Board of Directors Steve Miller on behalf of the company. They were part of a criminal and civil settlement announced last month between the Stamford, Connecticut-based company and the Department of Justice.
The deal includes $ 8.3 billion in penalties and forfeitures, but the company must pay only a fraction of that amount directly to the federal government, or $ 225 million. He would pay the smaller amount as long as he executes a settlement going through federal bankruptcy court with state and local governments and other entities suing him over the toll of the opioid epidemic.
Members of the wealthy Sackler family who own the business have also agreed to pay the federal government $ 225 million to settle civil disputes. No criminal charges have been filed against any family members, although their agreement leaves open the possibility of this in the future.
“Getting our plea accepted in federal court and taking responsibility for past wrongdoing is a critical step in preserving billions of dollars of value to creditors and advancing our goal of providing vital financial resources and medicines to deal with the crisis. opioid crisis, ”Purdue said in a written statement after pleading guilty.
“We continue to work tirelessly to gain additional support for a proposed bankruptcy settlement, which would direct the overwhelming majority of settlement funds to state, local and tribal governments in an effort to alleviate the opioid crisis,” indicates the press release.
Purdue’s plea against federal crimes provides little comfort to advocates who want to see tougher penalties for the maker of OxyContin and its owners. The ongoing drug overdose crisis, which appears to worsen during the coronavirus pandemic, has contributed to the deaths of more than 470,000 Americans over the past two decades, most of those from legal and illicit opioids.
Cynthia Munger, whose son is recovering from his opioid addiction after being prescribed OxyContin more than a decade ago as a high school baseball player with a shoulder injury, is among the activists pushing Purdue owners and company officials to be charged with crimes.
“Until we do this and stop blaming brick and mortar and not individuals, nothing will change,” said Munger, who lives in Wayne, Pa.
Attorneys general in about half of the states opposed the federal settlement, as well as the company’s proposed settlement in bankruptcy court. In the bankruptcy case, Purdue has offered to transform into a public utility whose proceeds will help solve the opioid crisis.
Attorneys general and some activists are upset that despite the Sacklers giving up control of the company, the family remains wealthy and its members will not be sentenced to jail or other individual sentences.
Campaigners say there is no difference between the actions of the company and its owners, who also controlled Purdue’s board of directors until recent years.
Last week, as part of a motion to gain access to more family documents, attorneys general who oppose the agreements filed documents that placed members of the Sackler family at the center of Purdue’s continued pressure to sales of OxyContin, even as an opioid. the deaths have increased.
The new public documents include emails from McKinsey & Corp. consultants. hired by the company to help boost the business. A 2008, a year after the company first pleaded guilty to opioid-related crimes, said board members, including a member of the Sackler family, “blessed him for doing everything what he deemed necessary to “save the business”. “
Another internal McKinsey email details how a mid-level Purdue employee felt about the company. This further proves that the Sacklers are practical, saying, “The brothers who started the company saw all employees as the guys who ‘cut the hedges” – employees should do exactly as they are asked and not say too much.
The documents also describe the company that attempted to “supercharge” opioid sales in 2013 because the response to the overdose crisis took a toll on prescribing.
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