Credit: danilo.alvesd via Unsplash
Global advertising firm Publicis Groupe has paid $343 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that one of its agencies helped accelerate the opioid epidemic in the United States by marketing OxyContin.
Publicis Health's payment settles a lawsuit started three years ago by a series of U.S. states over work for Purdue Pharma by the now-defunct agency Rosetta.
The lawsuit, which alleges “predatory and deceptive marketing tactics,” was seen as an unprecedented move that focused allegations of liability for a customer's product on a marketing group.
Attorneys general from 50 states alleged that marketing campaigns were used to induce doctors to recommend opioids to patients.
Publicis allegedly implemented Purdue Pharma's predatory “Evolution to Excellence” scheme developed by McKinsey. The scheme targeted the doctors who prescribed the most OxyContin and bombarded them with sales calls and marketing.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said the settlement requires Publicis to release hundreds of thousands of internal documents detailing its work with Purdue and other opioid manufacturers, as well as its work with consultants such as McKinsey and Practice Fusion. He said they are also required to make their communications public.
James said the agreement prohibits Publicis from accepting future contracts or contracts related to the marketing or sale of opioids.
Publicis said the work carried out on behalf of the pharmaceutical company was always in full compliance with the law. There was nothing deceptive about what it did.
The France-based company said the entire settlement amount should quickly and directly contribute to opioid relief efforts in each state.
Publicis said it was acting as a “good citizen” and that the settlement was in no way an admission of wrongdoing or liability.
“If necessary, we intend to defend against litigation that is not resolved by this agreement,” the company said.
Rosetta was a small agency that closed a decade ago and was already working with pharmaceutical companies when it was acquired by Publicis in 2011.
Marketing efforts were targeted to healthcare professionals rather than consumers, using communication tools and terminology approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
According to Publicis, Rosetta's role continues to be to provide standard services that advertising agencies provide to clients for products that are prescribed to patients, are covered by major private insurer Medicare, and are approved by state drug authorities. It was said that the implementation was limited.
“We recognize that our work in compliance with this law was done in a broader context. Addressing opioids in the United States requires collaboration between industry, lawmakers, and communities, and we We are committed to doing so,” Publicis Health said in a statement.
“That’s why we worked hard to reach this agreement and reaffirmed our long-standing commitment to reject future opioid-related projects.”
Publicis will pay $213 million of the $343 million settlement after receiving $130 million in compensation from insurance companies.
Is there anything you want to say about this? Please share your opinion in the comment section below. If you have a news story or information, please contact us at [email protected].
Sign up for the AdNews newsletter or like or follow us on Facebook twitter Get updates on stories and campaigns throughout the day.
