RI to Receive $2.5 Million Settlement After McKinsey Found to Have “Turbocharged” Opioid Epidemic
GoLocalProv News Team
RI to Receive $2.5 Million Settlement After McKinsey Found to Have “Turbocharged” Opioid Epidemic
"The settlement comes after lawsuits unearthed a trove of documents showing how McKinsey worked to drive sales of Purdue Pharma’s OxyContin painkiller amid an opioid crisis in the United States that has contributed to the deaths of more than 450,000 people over the past two decades," reported the New York Times.
Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo's husband Andy Moffit had previously worked at McKinsey in their education consulting division.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWith regard to the opioid crisis, Raimondo had repeatedly refused to reject donations from Jonathan Sackler and his wife -- whose family are the multi-billionaire owners of Purdue Pharma, and Sackler was named personally in a number of lawsuits.
Purdue was also at the time named in a lawsuit by the State of Rhode Island for its role in the opioid crisis.
Raimondo finally announced she would be donating her more than $12,000 in Sackler campaign contributions to recovery organizations in 2019, after a GoLocalProv series of more than two dozen articles unveiled the ties between Raimondo and the Sacklers. Jonathan Sackler died in July 2020 at the age of 65 from cancer.
"McKinsey’s extensive work with Purdue included advising it to focus on selling lucrative high-dose pills, the records show, even after the drugmaker pleaded guilty in 2007 to federal criminal charges that it had misled doctors and regulators about OxyContin’s risks," the NYT added. "The firm also told Purdue that it could 'band together' with other opioid makers to head off 'strict treatment' by the Food and Drug Administration."
When states began to sue Purdue’s directors for their implementation of McKinsey’s marketing schemes, McKinsey partners began emailing about deleting documents and emails related to their work for Purdue.
About Settlement
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha joined a coalition of attorneys general from 47 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories in announcing on Thursday the $573 million settlement, and announced RI's portion will be "used solely to address the impact of the opioid epidemic on Rhode Islanders through treatment, rescue, recovery, and prevention programs."
“Far too many lives have been lost or devastated in Rhode Island as a result of the opioid crisis. We recognize that there is no settlement amount that will bring those lives back or undo the pain and suffering so many families are going through,” said Neronha. “We remain committed to continuing to aggressively pursue our litigation against the major companies that manufactured and distributed opioids and hold them accountable for the role they played in Rhode Island’s opioid epidemic.”
This is the first multi-state opioid settlement to result in substantial payment to the states to address the epidemic. Proceeds for each state were determined by a formula based mainly on population.
In addition to providing funds to address the crisis, the agreement calls for 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 agreed to adopt a strict document retention plan, continue its investigation into allegations that two of its partners tried to destroy documents in response to investigations of Purdue Pharma, implement a strict ethics code that all partners must agree to each year, and stop advising companies on potentially dangerous Schedule II and III narcotics.
Thursday's filings describe how McKinsey contributed to the opioid crisis by promoting marketing schemes and consulting services to opioid manufacturers, including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, for over a decade. The complaint, filed with the settlement, details how McKinsey advised Purdue on how to maximize profits from its opioid products, including targeting high-volume opioid prescribers, using specific messaging to get physicians to prescribe more OxyContin to more patients, and circumventing pharmacy restrictions in order to deliver high-dose prescriptions.
Opioid Crisis in RI
"The opioid epidemic has led to considerable harm to individuals and communities in Rhode Island over the last 20 years," said Neronha's office in a statement. "Since 2014, nearly 2,170 Rhode Islanders have died from an opioid overdose. On an economic level, these deaths—and the impacts on Rhode Islanders who have struggled with opioid addiction—have created considerable costs to the state in the form of health care, child welfare, criminal justice, and other programs, as well as lost economic opportunity and productivity. On a social level, opioid addiction, abuse, and overdose deaths have torn families apart, damaged relationships, and eroded the social fabric of communities."
View the complaint here.