McKinsey and Company, says the complaint for this class action, was a consultant to makers of opioids that helped boost prescriptions and sales of these drugs. The complaint alleges that the company and its related entities contributed to widespread opioid use by mothers and the painful effects on their babies.
The class for this action is all persons born in West Virginia after 2002, under the age of eighteen, who were diagnosed with opioid withdrawal, and whose birth mother (1) used opioids during gestation and (2) had a medical prescription for opioids before or during the gestation period.
Cynthia Woolwine was prescribed opioids by her doctor. After she became pregnant, the complaint alleges she used opioids from “the diversionary market,” that is, from illegal sources that diverted them from the legal market.
Her baby, identified in the complaint as EGW, was born dependent on opioids. The complaint alleges, “The first days of” the child’s life were “excruciatingly painful and agonizing as doctors weaned the newborn baby from in utero opioid exposure.”
EGW had neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a complex of conditions that occur when a baby is born after being exposed to certain drugs in the womb. Her weight at birth was only 4 pounds, 9.3 ounces, and she had the common NAS symptoms of difficulty in swallowing, muscle stiffness, and tremors. She has experienced developmental delays and now, at eight years old, weighs only around 40 pounds.
The drugs, the complaint claims, will have a “lasting developmental impact” and the child “will require years of treatment and counseling to deal with the effects of prenatal exposure and its lifelong impact…”
West Virginia, where EGW was born, has what the complaint claims is “one of the highest incidences of NAS births in the nation.” The state also has high intrauterine drug exposure rates, which lead to NAS, at 143 per 1,000 births.
How did McKinsey contribute to all this? The complaint claims the company was part of “an industry-wide conspiracy” that gave advice to many of the manufacturers of opioids, including “craft[ing] communications and develop[ing] campaigns” that were intended to override negative ideas about opioids and increase the use and sales of these drugs.
As one of its strategies, the complaint claims, “McKinsey advised Purdue and other manufacturers to target prescribers who write the most prescriptions, for the most patients, and thereby make the most money for McKinsey’s clients.” This strategy caused a surge in demand for Purdue’s drugs, the complaint alleges, so that McKinsey extended the advice to other opioid makers.
The complaint explains how this doctor-targeting plan was put into practice, by identifying doctors, then visiting and calling them repeatedly. Two of Woolwine’s doctors were identified by this program.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: News
Most Recent Case Event
McKinsey’s Consulting for Increases Opioid Sales West Virginia Complaint
July 23, 2021
McKinsey and Company, says the complaint for this class action, was a consultant to makers of opioids that helped boost prescriptions and sales of these drugs. The complaint alleges that the company and its related entities contributed to widespread opioid use by mothers and the painful effects on their babies.
McKinsey’s Consulting for Increases Opioid Sales West Virginia ComplaintCase Event History
McKinsey’s Consulting for Increases Opioid Sales West Virginia Complaint
July 23, 2021
McKinsey and Company, says the complaint for this class action, was a consultant to makers of opioids that helped boost prescriptions and sales of these drugs. The complaint alleges that the company and its related entities contributed to widespread opioid use by mothers and the painful effects on their babies.
McKinsey’s Consulting for Increases Opioid Sales West Virginia Complaint