The county’s Office of the County Attorney filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court Northern District of California against international consulting giant McKinsey and Company, Inc. for the company’s role in marketing opioids to the public and medical providers, officials announced last week.
The 82-page complaint alleges the company “served as marketing advisors to several opioid manufacturers, and in this role, helped counter the ‘emotional message’ from the families of overdose victims and advised Purdue on how to ‘turbocharge’ the sale of opioids,” according to a press release.
“As Purdue and other pharmaceuticals companies made billions off the harm and death their products brought to millions of Americans, McKinsey and Company, Inc. were their enablers and a profiteer of this blood money,” said County Executive Marc Elrich in the release.
“This is another example of the corporate structure being used to shield people from their immoral actions. They must be made to account for their callous greed and the filing of this lawsuit marks an important milestone in our county’s efforts to do just that,” he added.
“McKinsey’s method of aggressive marketing of opioids to prescribers demonstrably exacerbated the opioid crisis,” the release reads.
“In 2013, McKinsey proposed, and Purdue implemented with McKinsey’s ongoing assistance, Project Turbocharge, a marketing plan to McKinsey’s strategy for selling OxyContin. McKinsey’s actions caused and continue to cause the public health epidemic in this County and around the United States.”
The County Council recently approved the law firm of DiCello Levitt to represent that county in this lawsuit. The county has previously filed opioid-related suits that are expected to bring Montgomery County approximately $34 million over the next 18 years.
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