Publicis Health has paid US$160 million (€148 million) as part of a settlement after three years of negotiations related to former advertising agency Rosetta's past work for opioid manufacturers. ing.
The proceeds from the settlement will be donated to opioid relief efforts in the United States. More than $19 million of the settlement money will go to New York.
“After three years of negotiations, this settlement concludes the matter with a net payment of €148 million (US$160 million).” Publicis Health said in a statement.
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The settlement calls for Publicis to pay the amount within 60 days, according to legal documents reviewed by Marketing Interactive. Advertising agencies are also prohibited from “accepting future work related to the marketing, promotion, advertising, sale, prescription, or use of opioids.”
Publicis Health said in a statement that the settlement “in no way constitutes an admission of wrongdoing or liability.”
Publicis Health continued: “If necessary, we will defend against litigation that cannot be resolved by this agreement.”
The Publicis Health settlement was the result of a coalition co-led by New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
Publicis worked with Purdue Pharma from 2010 to 2019 on marketing campaigns for OxyContin, Butrance, and Hysingla. In the X post, James reported that Publicis was “running a deceptive and dangerous marketing and advertising campaign to increase sales of deadly opioids.”
She added that this is “the first settlement for an advertising agency's role in the opioid crisis” and that her office will “continue to pursue those who contributed to this scourge.”
Publicis Health was first sued by the state of Massachusetts in 2021. The lawsuit alleges that the advertising companies “designed and developed marketing schemes” to force doctors to prescribe opioids to more patients, in larger doses, and for longer periods of time.
Additionally, Publicis Health's campaign “targeted the most dangerous prescribers, including those in Massachusetts” and told doctors to “convert patients to OxyContin” with “illegal ads embedded in patients' electronic medical records.” It added that it had expanded. It also claimed that Publicis Health's marketing played a role in “fueling the opioid crisis.”
Purdue filed for bankruptcy in September 2019 following “thousands of lawsuits” accusing the company of gross misconduct that contributed to the opioid epidemic. In November 2020, Purdue settled a civil lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice and pled guilty to a 10-year felony.
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