Spilled bottle of oxycodone pills
February 5, 2024

Hikma and Publicis Health Hit with Double Opioid Settlement.

What Happened?

Two separate big-dollar settlements aimed at resolving the United States’ growing opioid crisis were announced on Thursday, February 1. Publicis Health— the U.S. healthcare marketing vertical of Publicis Groupe, a multibillion-dollar marketing and advertising company in France— will pay $350 million for its deceptive marketing of opioids, and British pharmaceutical company Hikma Pharmaceuticals will pay $150 million for failing to report potentially illegal opioid orders.

PUBLICIS HEALTH

Publicis Health was sued by the state of Massachusetts back in 2021 over its collaborative marketing work with Purdue Pharma, the pharmaceutical corporation currently under legal fire for manufacturing and irresponsibly advertising its opioid painkiller, OxyContin. Though narcotics manufacturers have been previously found liable for heightening the U.S. opioid epidemic, the $350 million payout marks the first-ever opioid settlement to involve an advertising company.

The healthcare marketing vertical plans to split up $343 million of its total $350 million settlement to fund opioid relief efforts in all 50 states, saving the remaining $7 million for legal fees. As part of the agreement, Publicis also promised to not take on any more clients who sell opioid products.

HIKMA PHARMACEUTICALS

The Hikma Pharmaceuticals settlement was a combined and concerted effort by the attorneys general of several states, including New York, California, Delaware, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia. An executive committee made up of the attorneys general from Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oregon also helped determine the settlement decision. $115 million of the total $150 million settlement will be paid out in cash, and the remaining money will pay for $35 million worth of its own opioid overdose-reversing products.

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