Opioid Epidemic Hearing Wrap Up: Sackler Family and Purdue Pharma Profited Off Human Misery
WASHINGTON—The House Committee on Oversight and Reform today held a hearing with the CEO of Purdue Pharma and two members of the Sackler family about their role in the opioid epidemic. At the hearing, Republican members blasted Purdue Pharma’s marketing strategies, spearheaded by the Sackler family, which endangered lives by encouraging prescriptions of OxyContin to not just those in need. They called out Democrats for holding the hearing during the middle of settlement negotiations, which could result in victims getting less restitution, and encouraged the Committee to identify solutions to prevent companies from using dangerous marketing tactics that lead to human misery and addiction.
Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.) started the hearing by outlining concerns with Purdue Pharma’s aggressive and deceptive marketing tactics that encouraged prescriptions for OxyContin. He chastised Committee Democrats for holding the hearing amid settlement talks, saying “There’s too much at risk. I hope that having this hearing today does not delay a settlement and result in victims getting less restitution from Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family. In this committee, we should do more than identify a problem and benefit from a short-term media mention. We should hold people accountable. I want to hold Purdue Pharma accountable, and I sure as hell don’t want to do anything that will help the Sackler family in any court of law.”
Congressman Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) called out the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma for claiming they didn’t know OxyContin was highly addictive. He said, “It is beyond the pale of believability to think that after settling with the federal government in 2007, that you could honestly say—watching the sale of your own company’s drugs—that you didn’t know a problem was coming down the pike, and to say that is just apprised believability and is absolutely abhorrent and appalling to the victims of opioid addiction.”
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.), a former police officer, spoke of his experience as an officer in seeing OxyContin abuse and addiction. He questioned Purdue Pharma’s dangerous marketing strategy. Higgins said, “Oxy was so powerful, so addictive—regardless of how effective it was—it’s not arguable—the street knew it was a serious problem. And, yet…how on earth did Purdue decide to pursue this policy of pushing Oxy as a less than 1% risk of addiction? To me that is a real betrayal.”
He went on further demanding answers as to the addictive tendencies of the drug questioning, “How could the streets know before Purdue’s board knew?” Purdue’s current CEO Craig Landau sought to answer the question, but ended up stating, “It’s a terrible scourge. Now, I’m not minimizing the impact that this has had on the population. So, in essence, I’m agreeing with your concern.”
Rep. Fred Keller (R-Pa.) sought answers from Purdue Pharma as to how to prevent companies from using dangerous marketing strategies. CEO Landau said, “I made a decision to stop the sales representative base promotion of opioids. I also decide to eliminate whatever speakers’ programs remained for our products. What I would recommend, as part of a solution—as I understand part of the purpose of this hearing is to solicit ideas—is to make training for prescribing opioids mandatory as I mentioned earlier. I would also suggest that efforts be made to require all of the medicines within this class—controlled release and immediate release opioids—to have barriers introduced to make them less susceptible or less attractive as drugs of abuse.”
Ranking Member Comer called out Purdue Pharma and the Sackler Family for their destructive role in the opioid epidemic and the costs it imposed on society. He said, “It’s not just the costs to the families, it’s the costs to society…This all started through OxyContin and marketing and misleading doctors and misleading patients about the benefit of your drug…
“So, when you say that you didn’t know when you created this drug what would happen—that may be true—but what I point out in my question, what others have pointed out today, is that your company knew this. That it was addictive, that it was creating deaths, creating disruptions, creating all sorts of havoc in America, but yet you continued marketing this product.
Ranking Member Comer further pressed David Sackler as to whether the Sackler Family was using the bankruptcy system to help themselves.
“Now, you’ve got to the point to where everyone knows the damages of OxyContin. So, you filed bankruptcy to avoid the majority—the overwhelming majority of the costs that you’ve passed onto to society… It’s just sickening to me. I share the outrage of just about every American. And I am just fixed to see what it appears to me is a family and a company that is going to use the bankruptcy process to get out of this and continue to be one of the wealthiest companies in America. It is unacceptable, and I am just sickened the more I read about the actions of Purdue Pharma.”