Global business consultancy McKinsey & Company has agreed to a $ 573 million settlement for its role in advising companies on how to “boost” opioid sales during an overdose crisis, a person aware of the deal told The Associated Wednesday. Press.
The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the deal ahead of Thursday’s scheduled announcement and filings in courts in 47 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories.
McKinsey did not immediately respond to a phone call or email from the AP on Wednesday evening.
Without mentioning McKinsey, attorneys general in at least North Carolina and West Virginia have scheduled announcements about the opioid crisis for Thursday morning. And Attorney General Bob Ferguson in Washington said in a statement that the state would file a consent decision involving McKinsey on Thursday that “will result in business reforms and send more than $ 13 million to Washington State for opioid treatment, prevention and recovery.” Ferguson said this was separate from the multi-state deal.
Most of the money in the national settlement, first reported by The New York Times, would be sent to the states within a year and used to mitigate the national overdose crisis. Prescription and illegal opioids like heroin and illegal fentanyl have been linked to the deaths of more than 470,000 Americans since 2000. And the epidemic deepened during the coronavirus pandemic.
National and local governments have filed lawsuits in recent years against companies making and selling prescription opioids for their role in the crisis. But going after a consultancy is another wrinkle in the lawsuit.
McKinsey provided documents used in legal proceedings related to OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, including some describing its efforts to help the company “ boost ” opioid sales in 2013, as the response to the overdose crisis took its toll on prescribing.
Documents made public during Purdue proceedings last year included emails from McKinsey. One from 2008, a year after the company first pleaded culpability for opioid-related crimes, board members, including a relative of Sackler, say “ blessed ” him to do whatever he thinks is necessary to “ save the company. ” ‘ ‘
Purdue is in bankruptcy court trying to settle lawsuits against him. The company has proposed a settlement that could be worth $ 10 billion over time. The company also pleaded guilty to criminal charges last year under a settlement with the federal government. Both Purdue and members of the Sackler family who own the company agreed to pay $ 225 million to the US government as part of the deal.
A group of the largest drug distribution companies plus drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson has also been working on a national settlement.