NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Members of the Sackler family who served on Purdue's board issued the following statement today about the Department of Justice announcement:
"Members of the Sackler family who served on Purdue's board of directors acted ethically and lawfully, and the upcoming release of company documents will prove that fact in detail. This history of Purdue will also demonstrate that all financial distributions were proper.
"As members of the board, we adopted rigorous policies requiring Purdue to be in full compliance with the law. The board relied on repeated and consistent assurances from Purdue's management team that the company was meeting all legal requirements, as shown in hundreds of pages of compliance reports that will become part of the public record.
"We reached today’s agreement in order to facilitate a global resolution that directs substantial funding to communities in need, rather than to years of legal proceedings. This proposed resolution includes relinquishing our ownership of Purdue and has been valued at $10-$12 billion -- more than double all Purdue profits the Sackler family retained since the introduction of OxyContin. States and cities representing more than half the U.S. population support this impactful plan. We have deep compassion for people who suffer from opioid addiction and abuse and hope the proposal will be implemented as swiftly as possible to help address their critical needs.
"Regarding the plea agreement between the government and Purdue, no member of the Sackler family was involved in that conduct or served in a management role at Purdue during that time period."