McKinsey close to settling US opioid investigations, sources say

By Nate Raymond and Mike Spector

(Reuters) -Consulting firm McKinsey & Co is close to an agreement with U.S. prosecutors to pay more than $500 million to resolve longstanding federal investigations into its past work helping opioid makers boost sales that allegedly contributed to a deadly addiction epidemic, two people familiar with the matter said.

A deal, which has not been finalized, would resolve U.S. Justice Department criminal and civil probes, the people said.

The time frame for the announcement of any agreement remained unclear, they said. The terms of the settlement could change as negotiations continue, one of the sources said.

McKinsey and the Justice Department declined to comment. Bloomberg earlier reported that McKinsey was close to resolving the probes.

Federal prosecutors have been investigating McKinsey's role in the opioid epidemic, focusing on its work advising OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and other drugmakers, Reuters reported in April.

The probe examines whether McKinsey engaged in a criminal conspiracy when advising pharmaceutical manufacturers on marketing strategies to boost sales of prescription painkillers that led to widespread addiction and fatal overdoses.

McKinsey has already reached separate agreements totaling nearly $1 billion to settle widespread opioid lawsuits and other related legal actions. These settlements involve all 50 states, Washington, D.C., U.S. territories, various local governments, school districts, Native American tribes, and health insurers.

In 2019, McKinsey announced it would no longer advise clients on opioid-related businesses. The company has maintained that none of the settlements contain admissions of liability or wrongdoing.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Mike Spector in New York and Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Bill Berkrot)