McKinsey & Firm consulting agency has agreed to pay $650 million to settle a federal investigation into its work for opioids producer Purdue Pharma, in response to court docket papers filed in Virginia on Friday.
McKinsey has additionally entered right into a deferred prosecution settlement to resolve legal expenses, together with that it conspired with Purdue Pharma to assist within the misbranding of pharmaceuticals.
A former McKinsey senior companion has additionally agreed to plead responsible to obstruction of justice, in response to the court docket papers.
McKinsey representatives did not instantly reply to cellphone and e mail messages on Friday.
Since 2021, McKinsey has agreed to pay state and native governments about $765 million in settlements for its position in advising companies on the way to promote extra of the highly effective prescription painkillers amid a nationwide opioid disaster.
The consulting agency additionally agreed final yr to pay well being care funds and insurance coverage corporations $78 million.
The U.S. has been in an habit and overdose disaster for many years, linked to greater than 80,000 deaths lately. For the previous decade, a lot of the deaths have been attributed to illicit fentanyl, which is laced into many unlawful medication. Earlier within the epidemic, prescription capsules had been the first reason for loss of life.
Some advocates say the disaster was touched off when Purdue Pharma’s OxyContin hit the market in 1996.
Three Purdue executives pleaded responsible to misbranding expenses in 2007 and the corporate agreed to pay a wonderful. The corporate pleaded responsible to legal expenses in 2020 and agreed to $8.3 billion in penalties and forfeitures — most of which might be waived so long as it executes a settlement by means of chapter court docket that’s nonetheless within the works.
McKinsey paperwork made public over time describe Purdue utilizing the consulting agency to assist “turbocharge” opioid gross sales in 2013, as blowback towards the opioid disaster meant that the corporate’s medication had been being prescribed much less.
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Mulvihill reported from Philadelphia.
