A congressional committee has asked the chief executive officer of Purdue Pharma and some members of the Sackler family that controls the company to testify at a hearing next month that will explore the role the drug maker played in fueling the opioid crisis in the U.S.
In a series of letters issued Wednesday, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform cited internal documents it released last month that helped to reinforce previous impressions — gleaned from years of litigation — about the way the drug maker was run by the secretive clan. The Dec. 8 hearing is an outgrowth of its investigation.
The committee noted, in particular, that Purdue “continued to recklessly market” the OxyContin painkiller even after paying $600 million in fines in a 2007 settlement with federal authorities for misleading the public about the risks of the prescription painkiller. The committee also pointed out the Purdue board was controlled by some Sackler family members and oversaw substantial decision-making.
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