AG Ellison announces $350 million settlement with marketing firm Publicis for role in opioid epidemic
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Friday a $350 million national settlement with marketing firm Publicis for its role in the prescription opioid crisis.
Filings in Ramsey County describe how the company's work helped Purdue Pharma and other opioid manufacturers market the drug. Publicis developed sales tactics that relied on farmed data from recordings of personal health-related conversations between patients and providers, according to court documents.
Publicis also contributed to Purdue's decision to place automatic alerts in medical records software. These alerts then encouraged health care providers to continue to prescribe opioid products, documents state.
MORE: M Health Fairview partners with Minneapolis' Roosevelt High School for naloxone training
In all, Minnesota will receive $4.45 million from the settlement. Since 2010, more than 6,000 Minnesotans have died from opioid overdoses according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
"It is hard to overstate the suffering that Publicis and corporations like them, who lined their pockets by pushing dangerous and addictive opioids, caused Minnesotans," said Ellison. "While today's settlement cannot undo that damage, it is important to hold them accountable."
Ellison's office has played a role in reaching opioid-related settlements with other manufacturers and pharmacies. Minnesota has recovered $564 million in opioid-related settlements.
Note: The above video first aired on December 15, 2023