Arthur's life had been a long exercise in carefully orchestrated ambiguity. He had spent so many years spinning so many plates. Now they were starting to shatter.
-- Author, Patrick Radden Keefe (chapter 13)

Importance: Arthur Sackler tried to live many lives at once. He oversaw a medical empire, became a fine art collector, and cultivated multiple families. Eventually, he would be called to account.

But there's another reason that drug companies charge such high prices: the monopoly granted by the patent is only temporary. Once you have received a patent, you generally have twenty years in which to market the product exclusively, though in practice it is often less time because the patents tend to be issued before FDA approval.
-- Patrick Radden Keefe (chapter 14)

Importance: The twenty year time limit terrified the Sacklers and in turn Purdue Pharma. When OxyContin's exclusivity window was expiring, Purdue chemists tweaked the formula enough that it could be considered exclusive again. In this way, the Sackler...