McKinsey & Company—McKinsey failed to disclose conflicts of interest while simultaneously advising FDA and opioid manufacturers
A House Oversight Committee investigation found that at least 22 McKinsey consultants were staffed at both the FDA and opioid manufacturers on related topics, sometimes simultaneously. In 2011, four consultants working on a $1.8M FDA drug safety contract were also working for Purdue Pharma on projects to persuade FDA of opioid safety, including writing scripts for Purdue to use in FDA meetings. McKinsey never disclosed these conflicts despite contractual obligations to do so.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Transparency | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.885 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.59)
Evidence (1 signal)
House Oversight Committee report found 22 McKinsey consultants staffed at both FDA and opioid manufacturers
The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform released a report documenting that at least 22 McKinsey consultants worked simultaneously on FDA contracts and for opioid manufacturers including Purdue Pharma. In 2011, four consultants on a $1.8M FDA drug safety contract were simultaneously working for Purdue on projects to persuade FDA of opioid safety. McKinsey never disclosed these conflicts despite contractual obligations.