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(WJET/WFXP)– The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is expected to receive over $15 million as part of a national settlement with a marketing agency for their work advertising for drug companies such as Purdue Pharma Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry announced.
AG Henry announced on Feb. 1 PA is expected to receive $15.7 million as part of a $350 million settlement with Publicis Health where they recognized the harm they caused through their advertising of opioid products and must also create a public website disclosing their internal documents detailing their work with companies such as Purdue Pharma.
Publicis also agreed to stop taking clients whose work related to opioid-based and other Schedule II narcotics.
”Publicis played a crucial role in these lethally-addictive opioids getting into the hands and homes of Pennsylvanians — it helped Purdue Pharma and others to market and publicize the drugs without full disclosure of their addictiveness and other harmful effects,” AG Henry said.
Court documents also showed how Publicis was Purdue Pharma’s main advertising agency for opioids like OxyContin, created sales tactics relying on data from patients’ conversations with doctors and played a key role in choosing to advertise to providers on patients’ electronic health records.
“This settlement will help communities heal and recover while ensuring Publicis no longer partners with manufacturers of opioid-based Schedule II narcotics,” Henry went on to say.
The $15.7 million will be going to the PA Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs for opioid addiction recovery across the Commonwealth along with funds from other national settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors.
AG Henry said those settlements are expected to bring PA an estimated $1 billion in the future.
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