As part of its ongoing quest to hold McKesson accountable for its role in the opioid crisis, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is urging shareholders in the big wholesaler not to re-elect the audit committee chairperson.
In a regulatory filing, the Teamsters argued that the committee, which is headed by Marie Knowles, has failed to conduct proper oversight of anti-diversion practices that led to a $150 million fine last year for failing to report suspicious orders of controlled substances. A decade ago, the wholesaler paid a $13 million civil penalty for similar violations assessed by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The union maintained the audit committee “appears to have paid scant attention” to the functioning of a Controlled Substances Monitoring Program “in the aftermath of the original 2008 settlement” with the DEA over opioid distribution, the filing stated. “As audit committee chair since 2004, and a member since 2003, we believe Marie Knowles bears considerable responsibility for this failure.”
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