- Purdue Pharma
Purdue Pharma L.P. is a privately held pharmaceutical company founded by John Purdue Gray. It is (or respectively was) owned principally by members of the Sackler family as descendants of Mortimer and Raymond Sackler. In 2007, it paid out one of the largest fines ever levied against a pharmaceutical firm for mislabeling its product OxyContin, and three executives were found guilty of criminal charges. Although the company shifted its focus to abuse-deterrent formulations, Purdue continued to market and sell opioids as late as 2019, and continued to be involved in lawsuits around the opioid epidemic in the United States. Purdue filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 15, 2019 in New York.On October 21, 2020 it was reported that Purdue had reached a settlement potentially worth $8.3bn, admitting that it "knowingly and intentionally conspired and agreed with others to aid and abet" doctors dispensing medication "without a legitimate medical purpose". Members of the Sackler family will additionally pay $225m and the company will dissolve.
