Feb. 2, 2024
Carson City, NV – Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford announced a $350 million national settlement with Publicis Health to resolve investigations into the global marketing and communications firm’s role in the prescription opioid crisis. Nevada will receive $4,122,056.40 from the settlement to help mitigate the harms caused by the ongoing opioid epidemic.
In agreeing to the terms of the settlement, Publicis recognized the harm its conduct caused, and will also disclose on a public website thousands of internal documents detailing its work for opioid companies like Purdue Pharma. In addition, Publicis will stop accepting client work related to opioid-based Schedule II or Schedule III controlled substances.
“As I have said time and time again, we will never stop holding accountable those who have harmed Nevadans through their casual indifference for the consequences of this opioid epidemic,” said AG Ford. “I am proud to see another company held accountable for their wanton disregard for the health of others, and I am pleased the state has further funds to mitigate the harms of this horrible epidemic.
The consent judgment details 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.
Today’s filing is the latest action AG Ford has taken to combat the opioid crisis and to hold accountable those responsible for creating and fueling the crisis. To date, the Office of the Attorney General has brought in over $1.1 billion for the state of Nevada to remediate the harms caused by the opioid epidemic.
AG Ford joined the attorneys general of every state and territory – along with the District of Columbia – in this multistate settlement. The attorney general of Colorado led the multistate group through the 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.
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