JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States by assets, will reportedly no longer offer its services to OxyContin producer Purdue Pharma over the company’s alleged role in the country’s opioid crisis.
Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported Thursday that the bank’s decision to cut ties with Purdue Pharma will force the company to find a new bank to handle its cash and bill payments.
The report is the latest blow for Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family. The prescription painkiller producer is currently facing thousands of lawsuits, according to Reuters.
{mosads}A federal lawsuit alleges members of the Sackler family intentionally downplayed information about the drug’s potential for addiction and overdose.
Sources told Reuters that JPMorgan notified Purdue Pharma in March that it would be ending its relationship with the company, giving it six months to find another bank. JPMorgan reportedly told Purdue that it was concerned about risks to the bank’s reputation for providing services to the drugmaker.
“The company has multiple banking relationships and will not have any interruption to its banking and financial service needs,” Purdue Pharma told Reuters in a statement.
The Hill has reached out to Purdue Pharma for comment.
Preceding JPMorgan’s decision to cut ties with the company, several prominent art museums, most notably the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, announced they would no longer be taking donations from the Sackler family.