Richard Sackler

Richard Sackler
Born Richard Stephen Sackler
March 1945 (age 73)
Nationality American
Alma mater Columbia University New York University School of Medicine
Occupation Businessman
Known for Former chairman and president of Purdue Pharma
Net worth US$13 billion (Sackler family, October 2017)[1]
Spouse(s) Beth Sackler
Children 3
Parent(s) Raymond Sackler

Richard Stephen Sackler (born March 1945) is an American billionaire businessman, and a former chairman and president of Purdue Pharma, a company founded by his late father Raymond Sackler and best known as the developer of Oxycontin.[2][3][4]

Early life

Sackler was born in March 1945, the son of Raymond Sackler.[5][6] He received a bachelor's degree from Columbia University, followed by an MD degree from the New York University School of Medicine.[7]

Career

Sackler joined Purdue Pharma in 1971, as assistant to the president.[8] He became head of R&D and head of marketing before becoming president in 1999, and co-chairman in 2003.[8] Sackler was in charge of the research department that developed OxyContin. As president, he approved the targeted marketing schemes to promote sales of OxyContin to doctors, pharmacists, nurses, academics, and others. Shelby Sherman, an ex-Purdue sales rep, has called these marketing schemes "graft".[2]

In 2015, Sackler was deposed by four lawyers in Louisville, Kentucky. The deposition concerned the development and marketing of OxyContin under the watch of him and his family, who were and are active board members of their private company, Purdue Pharma. The marketing and prescribing of OxyContin in Pike County, Kentucky, was of particular interest.

Before the case could go to trial and thus before the deposition could become a matter of public record, Purdue settled for $24 million, admitting no liability, sealing the deposition, and requiring the Kentucky prosecutors to destroy, or return to Purdue, millions of pages of internal documents obtained from the company during discovery. The medical news website STAT then sued to unseal Richard Sackler's deposition. A state judge ruled in its favor. Purdue appealed, and, as of October 26, 2017, that appeal remains outstanding. The deposition cannot be made public unless the appeal is decided in favor of STAT again.[9]

Sackler has donated to both Republican and Democratic politicians, though chiefly to Republicans.[3] His charitable foundation, the Richard and Beth Sackler Foundation, has donated to anti-Muslim organizations, as well as to organizations that have promoted the falsehood that millions of undocumented immigrants voted in the 2016 presidential election.[3]

Sackler is a member of the board of advisors of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.[7]

Personal life

He was married to Beth but is now divorced,[2] and they have three children, Rebecca, Marianna, and David.[10] They have a charitable foundation, the Richard and Beth Sackler Foundation.[11] He has lived outside Austin, Texas since 2013.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Sackler family". forbes.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Secretive Family Making Billions From the Opioid Crisis". Esquire. 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  3. 1 2 3 Keefe, Patrick Radden (2017-10-23). "The Family That Built an Empire of Pain". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  4. ↑ "OxyContin® (oxycodone HCl) Extended-Release Tablets | Official Site for Patients & Caregivers". www.oxycontin.com. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  5. ↑ "Richard Stephen SACKLER - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "Richard Stephen SACKLER - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  7. 1 2 "The Koch Institute: Board of Advisors - Richard S. Sackler". ki.mit.edu. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Richard Sackler, the man at the center of secret OxyContin files". statnews.com. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  9. ↑ Keefe, Patrick Radden (2017-10-23). "The Family That Built an Empire of Pain". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  10. ↑ "A family, and a transformative legacy > Cover Stories > July/August 2014 - Medicine@Yale". www.medicineatyale.org. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  11. ↑ "Brothers follow parents' example to help fight cancer > Cover Stories > Nov/Dec 2009 - Medicine@Yale". www.medicineatyale.org. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  12. ↑ Keefe, Patrick Radden (2017-10-23). "The Family That Built an Empire of Pain". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
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