The Sacklers, the billionaire family that owns Purdue Pharma, discussed selling the company in 2000, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing court documents made public May 7.
The documents indicated Mortimer D.A. Sackler emailed two other directors in the company that the pharmaceutical industry "had become far too volatile and risky" for the family to invest nearly all of its wealth in. The revelation suggests that the Sacklers had long been concerned about the financial risks of keeping its ownership stake in a drug company.
The newly released complaint, filed previously by the Connecticut attorney general against Purdue Pharma and some of the Sacklers, is one of the more than 1,600 lawsuits Purdue Pharma faces for its alleged role in fueling the opioid crisis in the U.S.
Read the full report here.