US State Sues Publicis Subsidiary Over Role In Opioid Crisis
05/06/21 AT 11:27 PM
The state of Massachusetts sued a subsidiary of the French public relations firm Publicis on Thursday for its role promoting opioids in what became a major US health crisis.
That subsidiary, Publicis Health, is accused of helping Purdue Pharma urge doctors to prescribe its highly addictive painkiller OxyContin.
The lawsuit alleges that Publicis "engaged in myriad unfair and deceptive strategies that influenced OxyContin prescribing across the nation," a statement by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey's office said.
Those strategies were carried out through dozens of contracts between 2010 and 2019, worth more than $50 million, it stated.