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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Hoosier state will bring home $12.5 million in a multistate settlement with a consulting firm that played a major role working for opioid companies accused of profiting from the opioid epidemic, including Purdue Pharma, the Indiana Attorney General’s office announced Thursday.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced the state’s settlement amount as part of a $573 million multi-state opioid settlement with one of the world’s largest consulting firms, McKinsey & Company. Indiana joined in the settlement that included 46 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories.
The settlement is the first of its kind to result in substantial payment to states to address the epidemic, resolving investigations into the company’s role in working for opioid companies, helping those companies promote their drugs, and profiting from the opioid epidemic, the AG’s office said.
“The opioid epidemic has devastated communities in Indiana and across the nation, claiming far too many lives,” Rokita said in a statement. “We owe it to Hoosier families to hold those responsible for this crisis accountable and deliver the justice they deserve.”
For its part, Indiana’s $12,579,158 share of the settlement will be used to fund prevention, education, and treatment efforts in local communities. The agreement also calls for McKinsey to stop advising companies on potentially dangerous Schedule II and III narcotics.
“Today’s 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,” Rokita’s office said.
In an effort to increase transparency with the public, Thursday’s multi-state 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.
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb applauded the settlement Thursday, stating that the governor’s office has made combatting the drug epidemic a top priority.
“No amount of money can undo the devastating toll inflicted by the opioid epidemic, but this is another step toward helping Hoosier families recover from this national crisis,” Holcomb said in a statement.
Similar accusations were made against Purdue Pharma in November 2018 when Indiana filed a 98-page complaint against Purdue Pharma in Marion Superior Court and a separate complaint against members of the Sackler family in May 2019.
The November 2018 lawsuit similarly alleged the pharmaceutical giant promoted widespread overprescribing of OxyContin through a “deceptive and misleading” marketing campaign that led to a “full-blown public health crisis.”
Indiana then joined dozens of states in September 2019 in backing a proposed settlement with Purdue Pharma.
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