McKinsey agrees to pay nearly $600M over opioid crisis

The business consultant McKinsey & Company agreed to pay nearly $600 million for its role in consulting businesses on how to sell more prescription opioid painkillers amid a nationwide overdose crisis.

“We deeply regret that we did not adequately acknowledge the tragic consequences of the epidemic unfolding in our communities," McKinsey Global Managing Partner Kevin Sneader said in a statement Thursday, noting the company cooperated with investigations. ”With this agreement, we hope to be part of the solution to the opioid crisis in the U.S.”

The company said it had deals in place with attorneys general for 49 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. Under details provided by states, 47 of the states, the District of Columbia and the territories will share $573 million, which also includes $15 million for the National Association of Attorneys General. Washington announced a separate $13.5 million deal Thursday and West Virginia said it would have a major opioid-related announcement, too.

Most of the payments will come within the next two months under the multistate agreement, and the payments are earmarked for abating the raging overdose and addiction crisis that has deepened during the coronavirus pandemic. Opioids, which include prescription drugs and illegal substances such as heroin and illicit fentanyl, have been linked to more than 470,000 deaths in the U.S. since 2000.

“Even though no amount of money can bring back the lives lost, I hope our settlement provides funding for programs to help those battling opioid addiction," Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in a statement Thursday.

McKinsey's role in the opioid crisis came into focus in recent months in legal documents that were made public as part of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's efforts to settle claims against it...