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LONDON (AP) — The British Museum will remove the Sackler name from galleries, rooms and endowments following global outrage over the family’s role in the opioid crisis.
The museum is the latest cultural institution to cut ties with the Sacklers. The Sackler name has been removed in recent years from the wings and galleries of institutions such as the Louvre in Paris and the Serpentine Gallery in London.
The British Museum said it had agreed the move with trustees of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Foundation, which has supported the museum for more than 30 years.
“The British Museum is grateful for the Foundation’s past support, and the trustees appreciate their cooperation in reaching this agreement as we now usher the museum into a new era and present our incredible collections in new ways for new audiences” , said the president of the museum. George Osborne said in a statement.
The Sackler name has become synonymous with Purdue Pharma, the company that developed OxyContin, a widely prescribed and widely abused painkiller. Purdue has faced a barrage of lawsuits alleging it helped spark an addiction and overdose crisis linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the United States over the past two decades.
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The museum said it was drawing up a new master plan, making it a “timely opportunity” for change.
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