McKinsey Under Investigation for Role in Opioid Epidemic as Federal Grand Jury Empanels

The US Department of Justice is currently conducting a criminal investigation into the consulting firm McKinsey for its past role in advising some of the largest opioid manufacturers in the nation. The focus of the investigation is on suspicions that McKinsey helped increase sales for these manufacturers by providing consulting services.

Federal prosecutors are looking into whether McKinsey or its employees obstructed legal proceedings related to its consulting services to opioid manufacturers. A grand jury has been empaneled in Virginia as part of the federal investigation, which is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Western District of Virginia and the District of Massachusetts.

McKinsey has declined to comment on the investigation, but it has reached settlements with all 50 states in the US, along with Washington, D.C., and five U.S. territories to pay $642 million without admitting wrongdoing for its role in exacerbating opioid addiction. The company also reached agreements totaling $347 million with public schools, insurance companies, and more. McKinsey has maintained that it was helping legal use of opioids and patients with legitimate medical needs.

In recent years, McKinsey stopped working with opioid-specific businesses and stated that its work for Purdue was aimed at supporting legal opioid use. However, this work included recommending strategies to increase OxyContin sales, such as targeting high-volume prescribers and reducing time spent on low-volume prescribers, which fueled addiction through deceptive marketing practices by pharmaceutical companies like Purdue, Endo International