Two Sackler family members who previously served on OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP’s board have agreed under pressure to testify this week before a U.S. House of Representatives panel examining the nationwide opioid epidemic, avoiding subpoenas threatened by the committee’s chairwoman, Reuters reported. David and Kathe Sackler reached an agreement in recent days with the House Oversight Committee to appear at a hearing set for Thursday, according to a memo yesterday from Democratic Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney to members of the panel. The two are among the Sackler family members who own Purdue. Purdue Chief Executive Craig Landau is also slated to testify at the hearing, the memo said. Landau was not at any point threatened with a subpoena. The opioid epidemic has claimed the lives of roughly 450,000 people in the United States since 1999 due to overdoses from prescription painkillers and illegal substances such as heroin and fentanyl, constituting an enduring public health crisis. Purdue reaped more than $30 billion from opioid sales over the years that enriched Sackler family members, and it funneled illegal kickbacks to doctors and pharmacies, investigations have found. Purdue in November pleaded guilty to criminal charges over its handling of OxyContin, which included defrauding the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and paying illegal kickbacks to doctors and a healthcare records vendor, all to help keep opioid prescriptions flowing. The plea deal was part of a broader settlement allowing the company to effectively sidestep paying billions of dollars in penalties. Sackler family members agreed to pay $225 million to resolve Justice Department civil claims that they disputed. They were not criminally charged. The Justice Department contends that the settlement, which foregoes most of a $2 billion forfeiture on the condition Purdue receives court approval for its bankruptcy plan, allows more money to flow to U.S. communities suffering from the opioid epidemic.
