Keefe also does not offer any thoughts about whether the consequences of legal Ox圜ontin distribution through physicians and pharmacies enhance or detract from arguments for legalization of heroin and other currently illegal drugs.
He does not, however, explore why the state attorneys general, who have been vociferous in their condemnations of the Sacklers and so aggressive in pursuing civil claims to recover vast sums from them, have not pursued their own criminal charges (which generally are not stayed by bankruptcy proceedings) against the Sacklers. He notes that the Department of Justice decisions in 20 not to pursue criminal charges against the Sacklers remain unsolved mysteries. The Sacklers’ lawyers, however, managed to convince the Department of Justice in both 20 not to indict the Sacklers.Īs key developments in this saga continue to unfold, Keefe’s narrative implicitly raises two intriguing questions. In 2020, Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty to more federal criminal charges. In 2007, a Purdue affiliate pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges. This marketing campaign was wildly financially successful but eventually got the Sacklers and Purdue into trouble, Keefe shows, as they pursued it with increasing aggressiveness. Through dubious methods, Keefe explains, they secured Food and Drug Administration approval to market Ox圜ontin (1) as appropriate for all patients with pain rather than merely for cancer patients, (2) for lifetime use rather than short-term use, and most importantly (3) with claims that their drug created less risk of addiction despite being more powerful than other opioid medications. In exchange, they insisted on prominent placement of the Sackler name on buildings and exhibits.Īfter Arthur’s death, his brothers Mortimer and Raymond and their families made far bigger fortunes from their pharmaceutical company, Purdue Pharma, which marketed Ox圜ontin. He and his family donated lavishly to museums and universities.
He masterminded the wildly successful and in retrospect unscrupulous marketing of Librium and Valium, brought his brothers into his business ventures, and made them all very rich.Īt the same time, Sackler lived a very complex personal life and devoted considerable time and money to the arts and philanthropy.
Sackler practiced psychiatry, owned and operated advertising agencies that specialized in marketing pharmaceuticals, and published a medical newsletter.
0 kommentar(er)
