OAN’s Avril Elfie
6:16pm – Thursday, February 1, 2024
Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has filed a lawsuit against Publicis Health to resolve allegations that the company helped OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma fuel the deadly opioid epidemic in the United States. announced that it would pay a national settlement of $350 million.
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State officials say Publicis Health played a key role in developing Purdue Pharma’s “predatory and deceptive marketing strategies” that led to an increase in unnecessary OxyContin prescriptions and sales and contributed to the opioid crisis. He claimed that it made things worse.
This is the first time a company has been held accountable for its advertising strategy during the opioid crisis.
“For a decade, Publicis helped opioid manufacturers like Purdue Pharma persuade doctors to overprescribe opioids, directly fueling the opioid crisis and devastating communities across the country.” New York State Attorney General Letitia James said. “No amount of money can compensate for the lives lost and the harm caused by addiction, but with this agreement, Publicis will commit $350 million to stop illegal activities and help communities rebuild.” You will have to pay.”
The state’s lawsuit alleges that Publicis Health adopted the “Evolve to Excellence” strategy created by McKinsey & Company for Purdue Pharma. The plan was to reward doctors who wrote the most OxyContin prescriptions. They urged doctors to use messaging strategies that emphasized the drug’s “abuse-proof” properties while demanding higher doses.
In addition, McKinsey & Company agreed to a separate settlement in which it was forced to pay $641 million to resolve claims from multiple states.
“Publicis devised an unfair and deceptive marketing campaign designed to encourage physicians to prescribe opioids to more patients, in higher doses, and for longer periods of time,” the Massachusetts lawsuit states. and expanded.” “Intentionally, Publicis’ plan worked to counter public health measures aimed at reducing unnecessary opioid use, because the more opioids are used, the more Because it brought benefits.”
As stated in the proposed settlement, the Department of Public Health is now required to pay each state $350 million within 60 days.
The settlement also prohibited the company from accepting any future contracts or involvement related to the sale or marketing of opioids.
Additionally, to make available to the public, Publicis released certain internal documents describing its efforts with Purdue Pharma and other opioid manufacturers, as well as its interactions with consultants such as McKinsey and Practice Fusion. need to do it.
These documents are stored in an online document repository.
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