Similar to the revelations about FTI Consulting acting on behalf of fossil fuel companies, the disclosures of McKinsey’s role in promoting opiate use for the now criminally convicted Perdue show a shocking disregard for the well-being of the consumers of their client’s products. The fact that they urged Perdue to destroy documents makes it clear that they knew how appalling their advice would appear if it became public.

When Purdue Pharma agreed last month to plead guilty to criminal charges involving OxyContin, the Justice Department noted the role an unidentified consulting company had played in driving sales of the addictive painkiller even as public outrage grew over widespread overdoses. Documents released last week in a federal bankruptcy court in New York show that the adviser was McKinsey & Company, the world’s most prestigious consulting firm. The 160 pages include emails and slides revealing new details about McKinsey’s advice to the Sackler family, Purdue’s billionaire owners, and the firm’s now notorious plan to “turbocharge” OxyContin sales at a time when opioid abuse had already killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.

McKinsey Proposed Paying Pharmacy Companies Rebates for OxyContin Overdoses – The New York Times