Overview

Richard Sackler (born March 10, 1945, Roslyn, New York) is the son of Raymond Sackler, one of three physician brothers who purchased Purdue Frederick Company in 1952. After earning a B.A. from Columbia University and an M.D. from New York University School of Medicine, Sackler joined Purdue in 1971 as an assistant to his father. He rose through the company over three decades, heading research and development and playing a pivotal role in the development and launch of OxyContin, the extended-release oxycodone painkiller approved by the FDA in 1995 that became the most destructive pharmaceutical in American history. Sackler served as president of Purdue Pharma from 1999 to 2003 and as co-chairman of the board from 2003 until his departure in 2018. Internal documents obtained through litigation reveal that Sackler personally directed the marketing strategy that falsely portrayed OxyContin as less addictive than competing opioids, pushed the fabricated claim that addiction risk was "less than one percent," and oversaw the "Region Zero" program that targeted high-prescribing physicians. A 2001 internal email showed Sackler directing the company to "hammer on the abusers in every way possible," describing addicted patients as "the culprits and the problem" and "reckless criminals." In 2008, he directed staff to measure "performance by Rx's by strength, giving higher measures to higher strengths", incentivizing prescriptions for the most powerful and addictive OxyContin formulations. He was instrumental in securing the FDA label claiming "delayed absorption is believed to reduce the abuse liability", obtained without any addiction studies and through the compromised approval of Dr. Curtis Wright IV, who subsequently left the FDA to work for Purdue. The Sackler family extracted $10.7 billion from Purdue before its bankruptcy filing, with at least $1 billion wired to offshore accounts including Swiss banks. Sackler was named as a defendant in the Massachusetts Attorney General's 2018 lawsuit along with 15 other Purdue executives and family members. His 8-hour 2015 deposition in Louisville, Kentucky was initially sealed but was later obtained and published by STAT News through litigation. On June 27, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P. that the Bankruptcy Code does not permit granting liability relief to non-bankrupt parties, overturning the Sacklers' attempted civil immunity. On January 23, 2025, the Sackler family reached a final $7.4 billion settlement. No member of the Sackler family has faced criminal prosecution. Sackler has lived outside Austin, Texas since approximately 2013. He was portrayed by Michael Stuhlbarg in the Hulu miniseries Dopesick (2021) and by Matthew Broderick in the Netflix miniseries Painkiller (2023).

Key Affiliations

Controversies & Concerns

Related Investigations (6)

Known Associates & Connections

Sources & Documentation

5 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports