After protests and public pressure from artists, Britain’s National Portrait Gallery said Tuesday that it has “jointly agreed not to proceed” with a $1.3 million grant from the Sackler family, which owns OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma. The company and some of the Sackler family members face scores of lawsuits from U.S. states, counties and cities, accusing them of exacerbating and profiting from the opioid epidemic through deceptive marketing of the prescription painkiller. “The allegations against family members are vigorously denied, but to avoid being a distraction for the NPG, we have decided not to proceed at this time with the donation,” the family’s charitable organization, the Sackler Trust, said in a joint statement with the London-based museum. Reuters Britain's National Portrait Gallery in London has “jointly agreed not to proceed” with a $1.3 million grant from the Sackler family, which owns OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma. (Erin Clark for The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Source: Huffington Post March 19, 2019 19:07 UTC