Report sheds light on McKinsey’s alleged conflicts of interest

House committee found McKinsey skirted conflicts of interest rules working for FDA and opioid clients

House committee investigators found that consultants from consulting firm McKinsey & Company advised opioid manufacturers while the company was on federal contract with the Food and Drug Administration’s drug approval unit, an arrangement that lawmakers say may have breached federal conflict of interest rules, according to an interim report published Wednesday.

According to the report published by the House Oversight Committee, McKinsey consultants allegedly leveraged their work with the FDA to attract business from companies like Purdue Pharma, one of the leaders in developing opioid drugs. And according to the interim report, McKinsey consultants appear to have tried to influence government officials to benefit their opioid clients, raising questions about the company's firewall between government contracts and private sector work.

At the same time the FDA was relying on McKinsey’s advice to ensure drug safety and protect American lives, the firm was also being paid by the very companies fueling the deadly opioid epidemic by allegedly helping to defend opioid manufacturers against tougher regulation of these dangerous drugs, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., the committee’s chair, wrote in a statement.

Maloney called McKinsey’s conduct particularly “egregious considering its central role in driving a public health crisis that has killed half a million Americans.”