Investigation yields big bucks to fight opioid investigation
By Terry Murry on Friday, February 5th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
SEATTLE – The state of Washington’s court fight against big pharma brings $13,465,833 to address the opioid epidemic in the state. Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s investigation into a multinational consulting firm that worked with Purdue Pharma resulted in the settlement.
The settlement with McKinsey & Company will be invested in treatment, prevention, and other items to address the opioid epidemic. Ferguson field a consent decree in King County Superior Court requiring the payment as well as enacting corporate reforms. The consent decree resolves Ferguson’s investigation into McKinsey’s conduct for unlawfully fueling the opioid epidemic.
This consent decree is separate from another consent decree involving McKinsey that a coalition of 47 states filed Thursday. That decree will allow local Washington jurisdictions the right to bring their own suits against McKinsey. The attorney general’s office charges that McKinsey discussed ways for Purdue Pharma to “turbocharge” sales of OxyContin. The company proposed paying rebates for overdoses linked to Purdue’s pills.
After McKinsey came under scrutiny, the office states that two senior partners at the firm discussed purging records related to Purdue.
