Attorney General Manibusan joins multistate settlement against marketing firm Publicis over role in opioid epidemic

Attorney General Manibusan joins multistate settlement against marketing firm
Publicis over role in opioid epidemic
Office of the Attorney General, Saipan – Attorney General Edward Manibusan announces that his office
joined a multi-million national settlement with Publicis Health to resolve investigations into the global
marketing and communications firm’s role in the prescription opioid crisis. The Northern Mariana Islands
will receive nearly $62,000.00 from the settlement to help address the opioid crisis.
In agreeing to the terms of the settlement, Publicis recognized the harm its conduct caused, and the
agreement will give communities hit hardest by the opioid crisis more financial support for treatment and
recovery, building lasting infrastructure, and saving lives. The company will also disclose on a public
website thousands of internal documents detailing its work for opioid companies like Purdue Pharma and
will stop accepting client work related to opioid-based Schedule II or other Schedule II narcotics.
The court filing described how Publicis’ work contributed to the crisis by helping Purdue Pharma and other
opioid manufacturers market and sell opioids. Court documents detail how Publicis acted as Purdue’s
agency of record for all its branded opioid drugs, including OxyContin, even developing sales tactics that
relied on farming data from recordings of personal health-related in-office conversations between patients
and providers. The company was also instrumental in Purdue’s decision to market OxyContin to providers
on patient’s electronic health records.
Colorado led the multistate group during this investigation and was joined on an executive committee by the
attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Idaho, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Oregon,
Tennessee, and Vermont. They are joined by the attorneys general from all states, territories, and the District
of Columbia.