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# Senators Want Info on FDA Relationship with McKinsey in Opioid Crisis
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/senators-want-info-on-fda-relationship-with-mckinsey-in-opioid-crisis/
- Published: 2021-08-24T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T17:11:33.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5150001

Six senators are asking FDA for information on its work with McKinsey & Company and any potential conflicts of interest that may have arisen while the consulting firm was working for both FDA and opioid manufacturers such as Purdue Pharma. The 8/23 [letter](https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/markey-joins-senators-hassan-grassley-and-whitehouse-in-call-to-fda-to-provide-answers-on-potential-conflicts-of-interest-with-consulting-firm-mckinsey-in-relation-to-opioid-crisis?ref=fdaweb.com) was signed by Sens. **Edward Markey** (D-MA), **Maggie Hassan** (D-NH), **Chuck Grassley** (R-IA), **Sheldon Whitehouse** (D-RI), **Joe Manchin** (D-WV), and **Elizabeth Warren** (D-MA).

“While working with FDA, McKinsey also worked for a wide range of actors in the opioid industry, including many of the companies that played a pivotal role in fueling the opioid epidemic that our country now faces,” the senators wrote. “Earlier this year, McKinsey settled claims with 49 state attorneys general that the company helped Purdue Pharma ‘turbocharge’ sales of OxyContin. McKinsey also consulted for opioid manufacturers Johnson & Johnson, Mallinckrodt, and Endo International as well as for major opioid distributors and retailers.”

The letter asks FDA acting commissioner **Janet Woodcock** to provide information on: 

- how the agency checks for conflicts of interest before, during, and after it awards a contract;
- the agency’s current relationship with McKinsey and how many contacts have been awarded to the consulting firm since 2019, with a detailed description of each contract;
- what conflict of interest disclosures McKinsey made when it was awarded contracts;
- when FDA became aware that McKinsey had taken on opioid manufacturers as clients and whether such disclosures prompted a review of McKinsey’s existing contracts for conflicts of interest; and
- when FDA became aware that McKinsey’s clients included several major opioid distributors and retailers and whether such disclosures prompted any review of existing McKinsey contracts for conflicts of interest.