Would have done 'nothing' differently in opioid crisis -Kathe Sackler

"I have tried to figure out is there anything that I could have done differently, knowing what I knew then, not what I know now, and I have to say there's nothing that I can find that I would have done differently..." Dr. Kathe Sackler said.

Purdue in November pleaded guilty to criminal charges over its handling of OxyContin, which included defrauding the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and paying illegal kickbacks to doctors and a healthcare records vendor, all to help keep opioid prescriptions flowing.

The plea deal was part of a broader settlement allowing the company to effectively sidestep paying billions of dollars in penalties.

Sackler family members agreed to pay $225 million to resolve Justice Department civil claims that they disputed. They were not criminally charged.

The opioid epidemic has claimed the lives of roughly 450,000 people in the United States since 1999 due to overdoses from prescription painkillers and illegal substances such as heroin and fentanyl, constituting an enduring public health crisis.

Purdue reaped more than $30 billion from opioid sales over the years that enriched Sackler family members, and it funneled illegal kickbacks to doctors and pharmacies, investigations have found.