McKinsey to contribute $125 million to Purdue bankruptcy over opioid sales advice

By Dietrich Knauth

NEW YORK, April 9 (Reuters) - Consulting steadfast McKinsey & Co has agreed to lend $125 cardinal to Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy settlement, resolving imaginable ineligible claims implicit proposal ‌it provided to Purdue connected however to “turbocharge” income of its addictive painkiller OxyContin, according ‌to a tribunal filing submitted precocious Wednesday.

Purdue, which received bankruptcy tribunal support of a $7.4 cardinal restructuring program successful November, volition ​use the wealth to wage creditors who accused the institution of fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic done its assertive income tactics for OxyContin.

The bankruptcy colony near unfastened the anticipation that Purdue could prosecute ineligible claims against McKinsey implicit selling proposal that contributed to the company's downfall.

McKinsey, which antecedently agreed to wage $1.6 ‌billion successful settlements with the U.S. ⁠Department of Justice, states and section governments implicit its relation successful the opioid crisis, did not admit immoderate wrongdoing successful its colony with Purdue.

Purdue and ⁠McKinsey did not instantly respond to requests for comment.

McKinsey, which ceased advising clients connected opioid-related businesses successful 2019, has antecedently said that it was "deeply sorry" for its proposal connected boosting opioid sales, and that its ​work for ​opioid manufacturers “will ever beryllium a root of profound regret ​for our firm.”

The McKinsey colony volition ‌add $50 cardinal to the expected betterment for individuals harmed by the opioid crisis, a radical that had been antecedently expected to get astir $865 million, according to tribunal documents.

Most of the Purdue colony wealth volition spell to states and section governments, which person agreed to usage the wealth for opioid abatement efforts specified arsenic addiction treatment. Purdue's owners, members of the Sackler family, are contributing astatine ‌least $6.5 cardinal to money the bankruptcy settlement.

Purdue doubly pleaded ​guilty to national transgression charges of falsely selling the drug, ​acknowledging it misled regulators, doctors and ​patients astir addiction risks and engaged successful amerciable practices to boost opioid sales. ‌The institution is scheduled to beryllium sentenced ​over its 2nd blameworthy plea ​on April 21.

After the bankruptcy, Purdue volition beryllium converted into a nonprofit called Knoa Pharma, which volition absorption connected processing and distributing opioid overdose reversal and addiction attraction medications.

The ​settlement indispensable beryllium approved by ‌a U.S. bankruptcy justice earlier it becomes final. Purdue volition question support of the ​agreement astatine an April 30 tribunal proceeding successful White Plains, New York.

(Reporting by Dietrich ​Knauth, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Aurora Ellis)