(Center Square) – Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor announced on Thursday that the state would receive more than $780,000 in a settlement with Publicis Health as part of a $350 million national settlement.
The state will use the funds to address the effects of opioid misuse and the damage it has caused Alaska and its residents.
“Alaska has been hard hit by the opioid crisis,” said Taylor.
Publicis Health is a global marketing entity with 40 offices worldwide.
The filing in Anchorage detailed Publicis Health’s role in promoting opioid-based Schedule II or Schedule III controlled substances for companies like Allergan USA, Inc.; Endo Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson; McKesson; Purdue Pharma LP; and Teva Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Among the most recognized addictive opioid drugs, OxyContin was branded by Publicis Health for its client Purdue Pharma by developing questionable sales tactics and was “instrumental in Purdue’s decision to market OxyContin to providers on patient’s electronic health records,” the governor’s office said.