WASHINGTON — McKinsey & Company consulting firm has agreed to pay $650 million to settle a federal investigation into its work to help opioids manufacturer Purdue Pharma boost the sales of the highly addictive drug OxyContin, according to court papers filed in Virginia on Friday.
It's the latest effort by federal prosecutors to hold accountable companies officials say helped fuel the U.S. addiction and overdose crisis that has been linked to more than 80,000 deaths per year recently. For the past decade, most of the deaths have been attributed to illicit fentanyl, which is laced into many illegal drugs. Earlier in the epidemic, prescription pills were the primary cause of death.
During the work to “turbocharge” sales in 2013, McKinsey consultants accompanied Purdue sales representatives on visits to prescribers and pharmacies to gather information. In a note about one ride-along, a McKinsey consultant said one pharmacist had a gun “and was shaking; abuse is definitely a huge issue.” The company continued looking for ways to increase OxyContin sales, according to court papers.
The company also tried to help Purdue get a say in shaping federal rules intended to ensure the benefits of addictive prescription drugs outweighed the risks. The government said in its new filings that that resulted in making high-dose OxyContin subject to the same oversight as lower-dose opioids and made training for prescribers voluntary rather than mandatory.
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