MOD003325 - The Sackler Family and OxyContin - Sackler Family and OxyContin Case Study - Report Writing Assignment Help

Assignment Task :

The Sackler Family and OxyContin

He current opioid epidemic in the U.S. sees approximately 49,000 people a year die of overdoses caused by opioids, including prescription painkillers, heroin a Tnd fentanyl. One of the main contributors to this is the prescription painkiller OxyContin. the billionaire Sackler family own Purdue Pharma, the pharmaceutical company who make the highly addictive painkiller OxyContin. They are currently facing hundreds of lawsuits by American states and individuals who are claiming that Purdue Pharma put ‘profits over people’ when they downplayed the addictive nature of OxyContin. The first charge of unethical behaviour is that the company claimed that large doses of the opioid could be administered without being addictive, as the drug was coated in a slow release outer shell. This meant that only 2 tablets needed to be taken in a 24-hour period. However, many people experienced severe withdrawal symptoms before a single 12-hour period was up. Additionally, it was found that the tablets
could easily be ground down so that the slow release coating was erased. These factors resulted in addiction and deaths. Purdue Pharma claimed that the way the
drug was taken was the responsibility of the individual rather than how they had manufactured it.
Another charge of unethical behaviour lies in the aggressive marketing of the drug, with the company spending more on promotion than any other comparable drug.
They invited doctors and medical professionals across the US to all expenses paid conferences in resorts. Purdue Pharma also targeted doctors who were frequent
prescribers of pain medication for chronic pain sufferers. This meant that OxyContin became one of the most commonly prescribed opioids in the U.S.
In 2010 when the patent for OxyContin expired meaning it could be sold as a generic medication at a cheaper price, Purdue Pharma finally admitted that there was a
problem with the medication and it should not be sold. They made a change to the drug resulting in a new patent. This new patent meant that the pricing structure was
protected and profits were not compromised. The Sackler family has been accused of exploiting people’s weaknesses for financial gain.

Museums and Galleries supported by the Sackler Family

The Sackler family is an extremely wealthy American-British family who owns Purdue Pharma, a pharmaceutical company which is famous for manufacturing the
highly addictive painkiller, OxyContin. This drug has been identified as one of the main causes of the opioid crisis in the United States, which has seen an alarming
increase in addiction and death. The Sackler family are also famous for their philanthropy and generous donations to museums, galleries and universities across
the world. In February 2018, an article in The Guardian equated the Sackler family to a drug cartel as both make money from the suffering of those addicted to the drugs
they sell; one legally, the other illegally. The article further argues that donations given by the Sackler family to museums, galleries and universities across the world
should be declined in the same way as donations from drug cartels.
Respected institutions such as the Louvre, the Guggenheim, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Gallery have all received generous donations from the
Sackler family. Some have even named libraries, wings and galleries after them. However, since the revelation of the opioid scandal and the news that many U.S.
states are suing the family, many of these institutions have gone to great lengths to distance themselves from the Sackler family. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and
the Guggenheim in New York, the Tate art group in the UK, the National Portrait Gallery and the Serpentine Gallery in London have all refused to accept further gifts
or donations from the Sackler family.
The moral issue here is that those institutions who accept the Sackler family money, make the Sackler family seem respectable by associating their respected names
with the family, and are therefore complicit in ‘reputation laundering’ as well as besmirching their own reputation.

Question:

1. Can an organisation be described as successful if it is not ethical? Use your case study to illustrate your answer.
2. What can the organisation in your case study do to protect itself against unethical behaviour?

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