Publicis Groupe, the main advertising firm used by opioid maker Purdue Pharma, will pay $350m to be divided between all 50 US states, to settle allegations that it developed “predatory and deceptive marketing strategies” targeted at increasing physicians’ prescribing of Purdue’s high dose opioids Butrans, Hysingla, and OxyContin.
It is the first time that an advertising company has been held to account for its role in the US opioid epidemic. Publicis has agreed to leave the field of opioid marketing permanently and to pay the full sum within 60 days. The money will fund states’ addiction treatment programmes and overdose prevention efforts.
Publicis, which recently became the world’s biggest advertising holding company with a market value of $25bn, created “pamphlets and brochures that promoted OxyContin …
