McKinsey to pay $650 million over role in OxyContin epidemic
International consulting firm McKinsey & Company agreed Friday to resolve criminal charges with federal prosecutors in two states for its role in helping Purdue Pharma boost sales of OxyContin and other opioid painkillers, fueling an addiction epidemic.
McKinsey agreed to pay $650 million as part of a deferred prosecution agreement, according to court documents filed Friday.
As part of the agreement, McKinsey will "not do any work related to the marketing, sale, promotion or distribution of controlled substances" and will not contest the facts of the government's criminal charges.
Those agreed-upon facts said McKinsey "knew the risks and dangers associated with OxyContin" but "designed strategies to help Purdue Pharma" to "turbocharge" OxyContin prescriptions.
"This included a strategy to identify which current OxyContin prescribers would likely generate the greatest number of additional prescriptions if called on by Purdue Pharma's sales force," court records said.
During a six year period from 2012-2018, McKinsey "knowingly and intentionally conspired with Purdue Pharma L.P. and others to aid and abet the misbranding of prescription drugs, held for sale after shipment in interstate commerce, without valid prescriptions," according to the charging document that had been filed jointly by the United States Attorney's offices for the District of Massachusetts and the Western District of Virginia.
McKinsey was charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and with destroying documents.
In 2019, McKinsey said it would no longer advise clients on opioid-related businesses.
The company reached a $573 million agreement in 2021 with attorneys general in 47 states who said the company worked to drive sales of opioids, contributing to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans.
In a statement Friday, McKinsey said it was "deeply sorry for our past client service to Purdue Pharma and the actions of a former partner who deleted documents related to his work for that client."
The company added, "We should have appreciated the harm opioids were causing in our society and we should not have undertaken sales and marketing work for Purdue Pharma. This terrible public health crisis and our past work for opioid manufacturers will always be a source of profound regret for our firm."
