Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita on Thursday announced a $12.5 million settlement for Indiana as part of a $573 million multi-state settlement with one of the world’s largest consulting firms, McKinsey & Company, resolving investigations into the company’s role in working for opioid companies, helping those companies promote their drugs, and profiting from the opioid epidemic.
Rokita
“The opioid epidemic has devastated communities in Indiana and across the nation, claiming far too many lives,” Rokita said. “We owe it to Hoosier families to hold those responsible for this crisis accountable and deliver the justice they deserve. I want to thank the attorneys in my office who have worked tirelessly to reach this historic settlement, which will bring substantial and immediate relief to communities across the state.”
This is the first multi-state opioid settlement to result in substantial payment to states to address the epidemic. Indiana’s $12,579,158 share of the settlement will be used to fund prevention, education, and treatment efforts in local communities. In addition to providing funds to address the crisis, the agreement calls for McKinsey to stop advising companies on potentially dangerous Schedule II and III narcotics.
These filings describe how McKinsey contributed to the opioid crisis by selling aggressive marketing schemes and consulting services to opioid manufacturers, including Purdue Pharma, that encouraged physicians to over-prescribe OxyContin – triggering abuse, addiction, and death for thousands of patients. McKinsey continued these practices well after the opioid crisis was underway.
To increase public transparency, the agreement calls for McKinsey to disclose tens of thousands of its internal documents detailing its work for Purdue Pharma and other opioid companies and continue its investigation into allegations that two of its partners tried to destroy documents in response to investigations of Purdue Pharma. 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.
Joining Rokita in announcing the settlement are 46 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories.