After protests and public pressure from artists, Britains National Portrait Gallery said Tuesday that it has jointly agreed not to proceed with a $1.3 million grant from the Sackler family, which owns OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma . The company and some of the Sackler family members face scores of lawsuits from U.S. states, counties and cities, accusing them of exacerbating and profiting from the opioid epidemic through deceptive marketing of the prescription painkiller.

The allegations against family members are vigorously denied, but to avoid being a distraction for the NPG, we have decided not to proceed at this time with the donation, the familys charitable organization, the Sackler Trust, said in a joint statement with the London-based museum .

Last month, a gallery spokesperson told the Guardian that the grant was going through our internal review process in line with our ethical fundraising policy and charitable objectives. The Sackler Trust had not yet paid the grant, which it had pledged in 2016 to fund part of the gallerys expansion.

I acknowledge the generosity of the Sackler Family and their support of the Arts over the years, David Ross, the gallerys chair, said in the joint statement. We understand and support their decision not to proceed at this time with the donation to the Gallery.