Advertising company that sold OxyContin agrees to $350 million settlement

An advertising agency that helped develop marketing strategies to sell opioids like OxyContin has agreed to a $350 million state settlement, the attorney general announced Thursday.

The settlement will be paid by Publicis Health, part of the French media conglomerate Publicis Groupe and one of the world's largest healthcare advertising companies. This is the first major settlement reached by an advertising company over the US opioid epidemic.

The settlement proceeds will be distributed among states and primarily used to fund opioid reduction, treatment, and prevention efforts. Publicis has agreed to pay the entire settlement within the next two months, including $7 million to cover each state's legal costs.

The agreement prohibits Publicis from accepting future contracts related to the marketing or sale of opioids and requires it to release hundreds of thousands of internal documents detailing its opioid advertising efforts.

Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, was Publicis' largest opioid customer from 2010 to 2019, and Publicis was Purdue's No. 1 marketing partner, according to court filings. Publicis worked with Purdue to promote the branded opioids OxyContin, Butrance, and Hysingla.

The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), who co-led the negotiations with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D), said Publicis would not sell pamphlets or brochures touting OxyContin as safe and secure. He said that he was in charge of creating advertisements and materials such as. Cannot be exploited.

James said Publicis implemented Purdue Pharma's “Evolve to Excellence” plan. The scheme targeted the doctors who prescribed OxyContin the most and bombarded them with sales calls and marketing touting the “abuse-proof” aspects of OxyContin and touting its health-promoting benefits for patients. Dose.

The campaign was developed for Purdue by consulting firm McKinsey & Company, which has already agreed to pay nearly $1 billion in a series of settlements for its role in the opioid crisis.

“No amount of money can compensate for the lives lost and the harm caused by addiction, but with this agreement, Publicis will pay $350 million to end its illegal activities and help communities rebuild. That's the case,” James said.

Weiser said Publicis developed a sales tactic that relied on collecting data from records of private hospital conversations between patients and health care workers. Weiser said the company also contributed to Purdue's decision to market OxyContin to providers of patient electronic health records.

Publicis said in a statement that the settlement “in no way constitutes an admission of wrongdoing or liability” and that its operations “have always been fully compliant with the law.”

Publicis said the work was largely done by Rosetta, a small agency it acquired but closed 10 years ago.

“We recognize the broader context in which that lawful work took place. Combating the opioid crisis in the United States requires collaboration across industry, lawmakers, and communities, and we is fully committed to playing its role,” Publicis said.