McKinsey to pay $650 million to settle US opioid advisory probe drugs news
Prosecutors say McKinsey advised Purdue about steps it could take to ‘turbocharge’ OxyContin sales.
Consulting firm McKinsey & Company agreed to pay $650 million to resolve a United States Department of Justice investigation into the consulting firm’s work advising opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma on how to boost sales of OxyContin. Is of.
McKinsey has 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 prosecution related to the marketing of addictive painkillers. , which has helped fuel the deadly US opioid epidemic.
Prosecutors said McKinsey advised Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue about measures it could take to “turbocharge” OxyContin sales. He was charged with conspiracy to misbrand a drug and obstruction of justice.
Martin Elling, a former senior partner at McKinsey, has also agreed to plead guilty to obstruction of justice for destroying records related to McKinsey’s work for Purdue, according to court papers. He is scheduled to file his petition on January 10.
According to court documents, Elling deleted documents related to his work for Purdue from his company laptop, and sent himself emails reminding him to do so.
“We deeply regret our past customer service to Purdue Pharma and the actions of a former partner, who deleted documents related to his work for that client,” McKinsey said in a statement.
“We should have appreciated the harm opioids are causing in our society and not be working sales and marketing for Purdue Pharma. “This terrible public health crisis and our past work for opioid manufacturers will always be a source of deep regret for our company.”
An attorney for Elling declined to comment.
McKinsey agreed to pay $650 million over five years, improve its compliance practices to detect illegal activity, and deferred prosecution as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice and the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Agreed to conduct the inspection, the company said.
The company said the consulting firm also agreed to resolve a related civil investigation regarding alleged violations of the False Claims Act and enter into a “corporate integrity” agreement with the HHS Office of Inspector General.
‘Opioid shortage’
Purdue pleaded guilty in 2020 to criminal charges that included widespread misconduct regarding its handling of prescription painkillers, including defrauding US officials and paying illegal bribes to both doctors and an electronic healthcare records vendor. Conspiracy was involved.
Purdue is currently involved in court-ordered arbitration over a billion-dollar settlement reached in bankruptcy proceedings that were rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a statement Friday, Purdue said it was working to build consensus on a plan to “deliver billions of dollars of value for opioid abatement” and create a new company as an “engine for good.” The settlement proceeds are also intended to compensate victims, Perdue said.
McKinsey previously signed a nearly $1 billion settlement to settle sweeping lawsuits and other legal actions that alleged the company contributed to the opioid epidemic through its work advising Purdue Pharma and other drugmakers. Helped to promote.
The settlements included all 50 states; Washington DC; US territories; local governments; school districts; Native American tribes; and health insurers.
In 2019, McKinsey announced that it would no longer advise clients on opioid-related businesses. The company says none of its settlements involve any admission of liability or fault.
