《Painless Killer》Introduction to the real story behind it

Recently, a much-anticipated film and television work appeared in the audience's sight, called - Painless Killer - it received a lot of attention and praise during the promotion stage, making people full of expectations, and it has not been let down since its launch.The audience was disappointed.Especially recently, people have been very interested in the true story behind the Painless Killer and want to know more relevant information.

Netflix's latest American drama - Painkiller - (Painkiller), based on real cases and - - The New Yorker - magazine article "The Family That"Adapted from the report "Built an Empire of Pain", describing the most powerful Sackler familyFamily through its property, Purdue PharmaceuticalsPharma), making the opioid drug OxyContin excessively popular and causing addiction problems, thereby endangering the lives and health of millions of people, becoming a modern version of the Opium War.

Netflix American TV Series《Painless Killers》Real Easter Egg 1: The Infamous Sackler Family

At the beginning of "Painless Killer", you can see Purdue Pharma founder Arthur Sackler kicking off America's most serious modern opium war.Purdue Pharma, the largest pharmaceutical company in the United States, was founded by the Sackler family, which is also the most notorious family in today's society.

However, it was Richard Sackler, the nephew of founder Arthur, who pushed Purdue Pharma to its peak. He took over his uncle's position and became the president of Purdue Pharma, leading Purdue Pharma into a new chapter.Not only did it generate revenue of US$3 billion (approximately NT$96 billion) in 2017, it also has more than 5,000 employees worldwide.

However, what you may not know is that the Sackler family was originally a poor immigrant family. Now it relies on opioid painkillers to turn around and is now one of the richest and most powerful families in the United States, creating an $11 billion business.In 2015, he ranked among the top 20 richest people in the world.

The Sackler family took root in the United States before World War I. In the 1930s, the Sackler brothers gradually accumulated wealth and expanded their territory by relying on the three Sackler brothers, who were both practicing medicine. Among them, Arthur Sackler was the main figure who helped the family become rich. After the three brothers acquiredAfter starting a small pharmaceutical company (the predecessor of Purdue Pharma), it relied on excellent marketing to make a fortune.

In addition to gaining an important socioeconomic status through the medical industry, the Sackler family's patronage of the arts also made them influential figures in the upper class.Many of the world's largest art institutions are sponsored and supported by the Sackler family, and even the Sackler family's name is engraved on donated exhibition halls and walls.It was not until OxyContin and Purdue Pharma were criticized by the public in recent years that the Sackler family was gradually removed from their patronage by art institutions.

Netflix American TV Series《Painless Killer》Real Easter Egg 2: The Origin and Spread of OxyContin

Netflix - Painless Killer - The drug OxyContin that has been mentioned in the show is actually an opioid analgesic drug containing opium poppy ingredients and its analgesic efficacy is about twice that of morphine.Because it has similar effects to heroin, it is also known as the poor man's heroin.

At that time, the OxyContin painkiller was produced by Purdue Pharmaceuticals of the Sackler family in the 1990s. It was improved from another painkiller because it was more effective, cheaper, and the pharmaceutical company's beautified packaging and vigorousMarketing has made it the most commonly prescribed powerful painkiller in medical institutions in the United States for a long time. However, its addictive side effects like drugs have been deliberately concealed, resulting in the most serious drug addiction in the 21st century.

In recent reports, about 1,500 people die from opioid abuse every week in the United States. Although OxyContin is not the only drug, its widespread popularity and the deep promotion behind it by the Sackler family and Purdue Pharmaresources, making it the signature drug of this medical plague.

As depicted in Netflix's "Painless Killers", the Sackler family has deliberately concealed the effects of addiction for a long time, and even vigorously promoted it, making them considered the initiators of countless lives.

Netflix American drama - Painless Killer - Real Easter Egg 3: Collusion between government officials and pharmaceutical companies?

In order to promote the legality of OxyContin, Purdue Pharma CEO Richard Sackler signed an application form with Food and Drug Administration officials, and then paid heavily to bribe officials who were unwilling to sign.

According to a 2006 Justice Department memorandum proposing to sue Purdue Pharma, FDA official Ritter made many suggestions during his tenure on how to speed up the marketing approval of OxyContin.He then approved the launch of OxyContin during his tenure, and one year after leaving the Food and Drug Administration, he was immediately hired by Purdue Pharma with a generous salary of US$380,000 (approximately NT$12 million) per year.

Netflix American drama - Painless Killer - Real Easter Egg 4: What ruling did Purdue Pharma obtain in reality?

Although Edie Flowers, the lawyer who tried to sue Purdue Pharma in the Netflix show Painless Killer, is a fictional character, in the mid-2000s, the U.S. Attorney's Office did try to sue Purdue Pharma.The office eventually negotiated a deal with Purdue Pharma to plead guilty to charges of marketing fraud and false packaging.

According to reports, Rudy Giuliani, a lawyer hired by Purdue Pharma, went beyond the chief prosecutor and secretly communicated with the then deputy attorney general to help Purdue reach this negotiation with the prosecutor's office to prevent the pharmaceutical company from facing additional prosecutions.In the end, three pharmaceutical company executives personally pleaded guilty and paid a total fine of US$34.5 million, while Purdue Pharma was fined US$640 million.

The impact of this ruling is that Purdue Pharma has thus avoided the ban on business cooperation with the US government and may cooperate on various public health projects in the future.Despite the guilty plea, Purdue Pharma can continue to sell OxyContin without restrictions.

Netflix American drama - Painless Killer - Real Easter Egg 5: Purdue Pharma is disbanded?The Sackler family disappeared?

What happened to Purdue later?Purdue Pharma, which has been founded for 130 years, filed for bankruptcy as early as 2019. The number of lawsuits that year has accumulated to more than 2,600, and the number of cases continues to increase. Purdue will be dissolved in 2021.

It was not until the spring of 2023 that the Supreme Court upheld the original verdict and allowed the Sackler family to pay a settlement of $6 billion in exchange for immunity from any civil lawsuits with Purdue Pharma.Even with such a verdict, American political conservatives estimated that the Sackler family still had a net worth of US$11 billion at the time.

In fact, in addition to Purdue Pharma, led by the Sackler family, which contributes to the problem of opioid painkiller addiction in the United States, there is another major pharmaceutical company that is also suspected of contributing to the problem of drug addiction, but the US president has done nothing to combat it.This is a long-standing social problem in the United States.

Netflix American drama - Painless Killer - Real Easter Egg 6: Which media also recorded the OxyContin and Purdue Pharma controversy?

The main source of the adaptation of the Netflix American drama "Painless Killer" is the article "The Family Who Created the Empire of Pain" published by writer Patrick Radden Keefe in the New Yorker, as well as the novel of the same name published in 2021, which introduces in detailHistory of the Sackler Family.At the same time, the Netflix US series "Painless Killer" also refers to author Barry Meier's 2003 documentary novel "The Origins of the U.S. Opioid Epidemic".Among other film and television productions, Dopesick, a series produced by the streaming platform Hulu, also takes the OxyContin controversy as its theme.

The documentary "All Beauty and Blood and Tears" that won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2022 recorded American artist Nan Golding's own journey of fighting drug addiction and using artistic actions to demonstrate against the Sackler family.

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