WASHINGTON | Prestigious consulting firm McKinsey has agreed to pay $ 573 million (US) to settle lawsuits launched by US states that accused it of contributing to the opioid crisis through its advice to pharmaceutical companies, including Purdue Pharma , the maker of Oxycontin.
The terms of the deal, announced Thursday by New York Attorney Letitia James, indicate that McKinsey has neither acknowledged nor dismissed the allegations against him, a position that allows the group to prevent third parties from using the system. compromise to attack him in turn in court.
McKinsey has, however, cooperated with states including New York, California, Connecticut, Colorado and Oregon.
“McKinsey’s cynical and deliberate marketing tactics have helped fuel the opioid crisis by helping Purdue Pharma target physicians they knew were over-prescribing opiates,” Ms. James blasted.
McKinsey notably advised Purdue Pharma, which pleaded guilty last year in this case, to help it boost sales, according to New York State. He recommended that the pharmaceutical group focus on the high dosages seen as the most lucrative, according to court documents produced by the plaintiffs.
This agreement, concluded with 47 American states in total and the District of Columbia which includes the federal capital Washington, must still be validated by a judge as demanded by the American justice system.
In addition to the financial penalty, McKinsey has also accepted immediate future restrictions on its activity: the firm will no longer agree to advise a firm on the development, manufacture, promotion, marketing, sale, use an opiate or any narcotic.
Nearly half a million Americans died from overdoses caused by both prescribed and illegally sold opiates between 1999 and 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.