SC AG Alan Wilson on Thursday announced a $ 573 million deal with McKinsey & Company for his role in “fueling” the opioid epidemic with Purdue Pharma
Wilson joined a coalition of attorney generals from 47 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories in a $ 573 million deal with one of the world’s largest consulting firms, McKinsey & Company, resolving investigations into the role of the company at work for opioid companies, helping these companies promote their drugs and profit from the opioid epidemic.
The settlement, after paying the costs, will be used to alleviate the problems caused by opioids in the participating states. SC will receive nearly $ 9 million from the multi-state agreement, to be paid over five years, most of it in the first year. This is the first multi-state opioid settlement to result in a substantial payment to states to address the epidemic.
In addition to providing funds to tackle the crisis, the deal requires McKinsey to prepare tens of thousands of its internal documents detailing its work for Purdue Pharma and other opioid companies for public disclosure online. In addition, McKinsey has agreed to adopt a strict document retention plan, to continue its investigation into allegations that two of its partners tried to destroy documents in response to Purdue Pharma’s investigations, to implement a strict code of ethics with which all partners must agree each year, and stop advising companies on potentially dangerous Class II and III narcotics.
“The opioid epidemic is not restricted to just one company or even all companies that manufacture the drugs,” said Wilson. “What we found in our investigation was that a major reason for the spread of opioids was how they were marketed to doctors without taking into account the health and safety of patients. Although opioids may be medically necessary, their marketing can also make them, in many cases, poison pills. “
Thursday’s documents describe how McKinsey contributed to the opioid crisis, promoting marketing schemes and advisory services for opioid makers, including the OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, for more than a decade. The complaint, filed with the agreement, details how McKinsey advised Purdue on how to maximize the profits from its opioid products, including targeting high-volume opioid prescribers, using specific messages to make doctors prescribe more OxyContin for more patients and bypass pharmacy restrictions on to provide high dose prescriptions.
When states began suing Purdue’s directors for implementing McKinsey’s marketing schemes, McKinsey’s partners started sending Purdue e-mails about the deletion of documents and emails related to their work.
The opioid epidemic has done considerable damage to individuals and communities in South Carolina over the past 20 years. During that time, thousands died of an opioid overdose. On an economic level, these deaths – and the impacts on South Carolina residents who have struggled with opioid addiction – have created considerable costs for SC in the form of health care, child welfare, criminal justice and many others programs needed to reduce the epidemic. It also resulted in the loss of economic opportunity and productivity. On the social level, addiction to opiates, abuse and overdose deaths have separated families, damaged relationships and eroded the social fabric of communities.
Wilson’s Office is participating in a global settlement structure deal involving the now bankrupt opioid maker Mallinckrodt. On August 15, 2019, the Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the three largest opioid distributors, Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen, alleging that they violated the SC Unfair Commercial Practices Act and created a public nuisance. The attorney general had already filed a lawsuit on August 15, 2017 against opioid maker Purdue Pharma.
The states’ investigation was conducted by an executive committee made up of the attorney generals of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont. The executive committee is accompanied by attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, the District of Columbia and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
