OxyContin marketer agrees to pay $350M rather than face lawsuits

A company that helped develop marketing campaigns for OxyContin and other opioids has agreed to a $350 million settlement with U.S. states over the toll of the powerful prescription painkillers. New York Attorney General Letitia James said Thursday that Publicis Health engaged in predatory and deceptive marketing strategies to help Purdue Pharma increase sales of its drugs. It is the first ad agency with a major settlement over opioids in the United States. The company says the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing and notes that most of the work subject to the settlement was done by a company owned by Publicis that closed 10 years ago.