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Local Universities Examine Their Ties To Big Pharma

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This 2007 file photo shows the Purdue Pharma offices in Stamford, Conn. (Douglas Healey/AP)
This 2007 file photo shows the Purdue Pharma offices in Stamford, Conn. (Douglas Healey/AP)

Local universities are examining their ties to Big Pharma, specifically Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler Family. The Sacklers are listed as the 19th richest family in America and have been major donors to universities and cultural institutions throughout the country.

The role of the Sackler fortune is raising questions and protests from those who say their money comes from their profitable opioid painkiller that helped fuel the nation's opioid epidemic.

Tufts University has hired an investigator to review the school's ties to the Sacklers. That's largely becuase of a lawsuit from state Attorney General Maura Healey that alleges the Sackler family tried to influence Tufts and its hospital.

Read Tuft's President  Tony Monaco's Letter: "Review of Sackler/Purdue Pharma Involvement With Tufts Academic Programs."

Guests

Nell Gluckman, higher education reporter for the Chronicle of Higher Ed. She tweets @nellgluckman. Her piece is "Tufts Will Investigate Its Ties to the Sackler Family. Here’s What Other Universities Are Doing."

Aneurin Canham-Clyne, he's an executive opinion editor of the Tufts Daily and a senior at Tufts. Here's the Tufts Daily's latest editorial on this issue, "Editorial: A Response To The President’s Letter On The Sackler Family."

This segment aired on April 4, 2019.

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