McKinsey & Co to Pay $78 Million in Final Settlement Over Opioid Epidemic Allegations

Consulting giant McKinsey & Co has reached a settlement of $78 million to address allegations from U.S. health insurers and benefit plans that it played a role in the opioid addiction epidemic by working with drug companies, including Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin.

The settlement, revealed in documents filed in federal court in San Francisco on Friday, marks the conclusion of a series of settlements McKinsey has entered to resolve lawsuits related to the U.S. opioid epidemic.

Plaintiffs claimed that McKinsey, a prominent global consulting firm, contributed to the lethal drug crisis by aiding drug manufacturers, such as Purdue Pharma, in developing deceptive marketing strategies to enhance the sales of painkillers.

McKinsey had previously paid $641.5 million to settle claims by state attorneys general, an additional $230 million to resolve claims by local governments, and had also settled cases involving Native American tribes.