McKinsey pays $650 million to settle US opioid counseling probe | Drug News

Prosecutors say McKinsey advised Purdue about actions it could take to increase OxyContin sales.

Consulting firm McKinsey & Company has agreed to pay $650 million to resolve a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the consulting firm’s work advising opioid maker Purdue Pharma on how to boost sales of OxyContin.

McKinsey Inc. entered into a five-year deferred prosecution agreement filed Friday in federal court in Abingdon, Virginia, to resolve criminal charges brought as part of a rare corporate trial related to the marketing of addictive painkillers that helped fuel the deadly opioid epidemic in the United States.

Prosecutors said McKinsey advised Stamford, Purdue-based, on actions it could take to increase OxyContin sales. He was charged with conspiracy to discredit drugs and obstruction of justice.

Martin Elling, a former senior partner at McKinsey, also agreed to plead guilty to an obstruction of justice charge for destroying records related to McKinsey’s work for Purdue, according to court papers. He is scheduled to submit his petition on January 10.

Elling deleted documents related to his work at Purdue from his company laptop and sent himself emails reminding himself to do so, according to court papers.

“We deeply regret Purdue Pharma’s past customer service and the actions of a former partner who deleted documents related to his work for this client,” McKinsey said in a statement.

“We should have recognized the harm opioids cause in our community, and should not have done the sales and marketing work for Purdue Pharma. This terrible public health crisis and our past work with opioid manufacturers will always be a source of deep regret for our company.”

Elling’s lawyer declined to comment.

McKinsey agreed to pay $650 million over five years, improve its compliance practices to detect illegal activities and submit to oversight by the Department of Justice and the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of a deferred prosecution agreement, the company said. He said.

The consulting firm also agreed to resolve a related civil investigation into alleged violations of the False Claims Act and enter into a “corporate integrity” agreement with the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, the company said.

“Reduce opioids”

Purdue pleaded guilty in 2020 to criminal charges covering widespread misconduct related to its handling of prescription painkillers, including conspiring to defraud U.S. officials and paying illegal kickbacks to both doctors and an electronic health care record vendor.

Purdue is currently participating in court-ordered mediation over a multibillion-dollar settlement reached in bankruptcy proceedings that was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a statement on Friday, Purdue said it was working to reach consensus on a plan to “deliver billions of dollars of value to opioid reduction” and create a new company as an “engine for good.” Bordeaux said the settlement proceeds are also intended to compensate victims.

McKinsey previously reached agreements totaling nearly $1 billion to settle wide-ranging lawsuits and other legal actions alleging the firm helped fuel the opioid epidemic through its work advising Purdue Pharma and other drugmakers.

Settlements included all fifty states; Washington, DC; US territories; local governments; school districts; Native American tribes. And health insurance companies.

In 2019, McKinsey announced that it would no longer advise clients on opioid-related companies. The company confirmed that none of its settlements contain admissions of responsibility or violations.