A Publicis Groupe SA sign at its headquarters in Paris, France, Sunday, July 28, 2013.
Balint Porneczi | Bloomberg | fake images
The health care division of French advertising giant Publicis has agreed to pay $350 million to resolve allegations that its past marketing efforts for drug makers helped fuel the opioid crisis in the United States, state attorneys general announced Thursday. from the United States.
The settlement marks the latest payout related to the prescription pill addiction epidemic, following settlements with major pharmaceutical companies totaling tens of billions of dollars.
Publicis Health said it will distribute $343 million of its total charge across all 50 states, as well as Washington, D.C., and five U.S. territories.
“The full settlement amount should quickly and directly contribute to states' opioid relief efforts,” Publicis Health said in a statement.
The group admits no wrongdoing or liability as part of the agreement, which resulted from three years of negotiations. But, their statement said, “We recognize the broader context in which that legal work took place.”
“Fighting America's opioid crisis requires collaboration across industries, policymakers and communities, and we are committed to playing our part,” the statement said.
Publicis Health said its insurers have offset $130 million of its payment to states. After taxes, the total charge amounts to $160 million in cash, the group said.
“For a decade, Publicis helped opioid manufacturers like Purdue Pharma convince doctors to overprescribe opioids, directly fueling the opioid crisis and causing devastation to communities across the country,” said the US Attorney General. New York, Letitia James, co-leader of the national coalition, in a press release.
“No amount of money can compensate for the lives lost and addictions suffered, but with this settlement, Publicis will end its illegal behavior and pay $350 million to help rebuild our communities,” James said.
New York will receive nearly $19.2 million of the total settlement, according to the state's consent order with Publicis Health.
The highest settlement amounts were awarded to California, Florida and Texas, which respectively received $34.4 million, $24.1 million and $21.6 million.
The states acknowledged that Publicis worked with them in “good faith” with “responsible corporate citizenship” to reach the agreement.
Publicis Health noted that its work for the pharmaceutical companies targeted in this deal was primarily done by a company it owned called Rosetta, which closed a decade earlier.
That work “at all times complied with the law,” according to the Publicis Health statement.
And Rosetta's work “was used only with healthcare providers, not consumers, using communication tools and language expressly approved” by the US Food and Drug Administration, he said.
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