NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Raymond Sackler family today released documents and information (available at the website www.judgeforyourselves.info) that address the many false allegations blaming family members, Purdue Pharma and OxyContin for creating the tragic opioid crisis in the United States. The website, based entirely on publicly-available documents and data, includes detailed information about the origins of the opioid crisis, which long predated the launch of OxyContin in 1996, and on the FDA’s continuing approval (including to this day) of OxyContin for patients suffering from chronic pain.
The interactive website, which allows interested users to search content, includes a series of video presentations based on historical documents and information made public, with the Sacklers’ consent, as part of the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy proceedings. These documents clearly establish that Sackler family members who served on Purdue's board conducted themselves ethically and lawfully at all times.
The presentations and information available on the website reveal how the false narratives about the Sackler family and its alleged role in the opioid crisis were orchestrated by plaintiffs’ lawyers, who clearly articulated—and stand to benefit from—their plans to vilify Purdue and the Sackler family. The extensive research on the website includes admissions from plaintiff-affiliated health care “experts” who knowingly failed to disclose substantial payments for providing consulting services to the parties who are suing the opioid industry.
The website also includes:
- Previously undisclosed correspondence with news outlets including The New Yorker, which has refused to correct documented errors in its reporting.
- A detailed, point-by-point refutation of the falsehoods from the Massachusetts lawsuit that were then copied by other states.
- An analysis of the various flaws of the several studies that have been widely cited as support for the false notion that OxyContin is to blame for opioid addiction rates (and government data showing that opioid prescribing and overdose rates were growing long before the introduction of OxyContin, which has always represented a small share of the prescription opioid market).
As the website details, movies, TV shows and the news media often mistakenly use OxyContin as a shorthand for opioids generally—frequently confusing and conflating OxyContin with generic oxycodone (which was invented in 1916 and is used in popular medications such as Percocet).
Raymond Sackler family members have consistently expressed their regret that OxyContin, which continues to help patients suffering from chronic pain, unexpectedly became part of the opioid crisis. They remain committed to resolutions that will provide substantial resources for addressing the opioid crisis.