Publicis Sued For Deceptive Opioid Marketing

Publicis Sued For Deceptive Opioid Marketing

Introduction

A Massachusetts attorney general has sued Publicis Health, LLC, alleging that the company helped Purdue Pharma in selling more OxyContin by deploying unfair and deceptive marketing schemes resulting in the opioid crisis.

The complaint is filed in Suffolk Superior Court alleged that Publicis partnered with Purdue to boost its opioids sales by recommending the doctors to prescribe Purdue’s opioids to more patients, in higher doses, for longer periods of time. Publicis garnered dozens of contracts with Purdue from 2010 to 2019 and collected more than $50 million for opioid marketing.

The attorney general explained Purdue fueled the opioid crisis in Massachusetts that resulted in death and overdose of the drug among the patients. She even stated that Publicis should also be equally blamed for the crisis, as it convinced the doctors to prescribe more OxyContin to more patients.

Publicis faces numerous allegations in the lawsuit, including deceptive marketing strategies and sending thousands of unfair emails to the prescribers along with the doctors to boost opioid use among the patients. Publicis even placed ads for OxyContin right in patients’ electronic medical records. The company even created stories to market the drugs and boost the sales of Purdue.

This lawsuit is a perfect way to combat the opioid epidemic and deal with the culprits who fueled the crisis. The attorney general will focus on dealing with the crisis through a multi-disciplinary approach that includes enforcement, policy, prevention, and education efforts. 

The attorney general even led a $573 million settlement along with 53 attorneys general against McKinsey & Company for helping Purdue to promote opioid sales. She even sued the Sackler family in June 2018 for creating the opioid crisis.