McKinsey & Co. to Pay $650M to Settle Opioid Marketing Case

Facts

• Consulting firm McKinsey & Company has agreed to pay $650M to resolve a US federal criminal investigation regarding its consulting work with Purdue Pharma's OxyContin sales.^[1][2]
• The consulting firm was charged with knowingly and intentionally conspiring with Purdue Pharma to aid and abet the misbranding of prescription drugs without valid prescriptions.^[3][4]
• Former McKinsey senior partner Martin Elling has agreed to plead guilty to obstruction of justice for destroying internal company records related to its work with Purdue.^[5]
• The agreement includes a five-year deferred prosecution agreement and prevents McKinsey from working on marketing, sales, promotion, or distribution of controlled substances.^[2][6]
• McKinsey earned $93M from consulting work with Purdue Pharma over approximately 15 years, with more than two dozen partners involved in the project.^[5]
• From 1999 through 2022, nearly 727K people died from opioid overdoses, according to government data. McKinsey previously agreed to pay almost $1B to settle lawsuits by states, local governments, and others, though it's emphasized that none of its settlements amount to an admission of guilt.^[2][3][6]

Sources: ^[1]Newsmax, ^[2]NBC^{, [3]}Barron's, ^[4]Axios, ^[5]The New York Times and ^[6]New York Post.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by U.S. Department of Justice. McKinsey's $650M settlement for turbocharging OxyContin sales marks long-awaited justice for opioid victims. As the first criminal charges against a consulting firm for client advice, this shows the Justice Department's resolve to hold all accountable. Ceasing controlled substance work and new compliance measures will also help prevent future harm, signaling that profiting from public health crises has consequences.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Jacobin, Substack and Business Insider. $650M for fueling the opioid crisis is a mere drop in the bucket compared to its vast influence and profits. The same government responsible for regulating McKinsey also enables these corporate crimes through lax oversight and revolving doors between regulators and industry. McKinsey's history of shady dealings, from Enron to Rikers Island to Saudi Arabia shows it rarely faces real consequences.