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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.
The payment resolves a lawsuit begun three years ago by a series of U.S. states over work for Purdue Pharma by the now-defunct agency Rosetta.
The case was considered unprecedented, focusing on a marketing group’s alleged liability for a customer’s product.
Attorneys general from 50 states alleged that marketing campaigns were used to induce doctors to prescribe opioids to patients “at higher doses and for longer periods of time.”
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 says the full amount of the settlement 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 their 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 legislation was done in a broader context. Tackling the opioid problem in the United States requires collaboration between industry, lawmakers, and communities, and we is committed to doing so,” Publicis 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.
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