Family behind Purdue Pharma to face congressional scrutiny

Members of the family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma are scheduled to make a rare appearance Thursday in a public forum, answering questions from a congressional panel about their role in the nation's long-running opioid addiction crisis.

Kathe Sackler and David Sackler, descendants of two of the three brothers who bought Purdue nearly 70 years ago, have agreed to appear before the U.S. House Oversight Committee in a video hearing held amid coronavirus restrictions.

They took the step after the committee's chairwoman, Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York, threatened to issue subpoenas. Purdue CEO Craig Landau also agreed to testify.

The hearing comes three weeks after Purdue pleaded guilty to three criminal charges as part of a sweeping settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice.

The company agreed to pay more than $8 billion in forfeitures and penalties, while members of the Sackler family would have to pay $225 million to the government. No family member would be criminally prosecuted under the Justice Department settlement, although the deal leaves open that possibility.

The settlement requires the company to hand over just $225 million of the $8 billion total to the government as long as Purdue makes good on plans to settle thousands of lawsuits filed by state and local governments, a matter that is now in bankruptcy court. State and local governments blame the company’s marketing efforts for contributing to an opioid addiction and overdose crisis that has been linked to 470,000 deaths in the U.S. over the past two decades.

The Stamford, Connecticut-based company and the Sacklers have proposed resolving the lawsuits by transforming Purdue into a public benefit corporation, with its profits used to combat the opioid epidemic.

Some members of...