Prescription Opioid Marketer Settles With W.Va. For $10 Million

A consultant to big-name prescription opioid manufacturers will pay out a $10 million settlement to West Virginia, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced today.

McKinsey & Company worked for Purdue Pharma and other companies to market and sell prescription painkillers, which states like West Virginia claim increased the opioid crisis at home.

Morrisey filed the lawsuit and a settlement was reached Thursday. This happened on the same day McKinsey settled a multistate lawsuit for nearly $600 million.

West Virginia was not part of the joint lawsuit that resulted in the hefty payout. Instead, Morrisey pursued action on his own.

“I’ve always been a believer that the monies should be based on the severity of the problem that you have in the state, not just population,” Morrisey said regarding the separate case.

“That was our call, so that there could be a separate negotiation, because I believe then, and only then, are you going to have the ability to truly have an amount and an agreement which reflects West Virginia’s unique needs,” he said.

Morrisey says he will push the state legislature to funnel this money to combat the opioid epidemic in West Virginia, most likely through efforts under the Governor’s Council on Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment.