Attorney General Phil Weiser announced a $350 million settlement on Thursday with Publicis, a big healthcare marketing company, over its role in the opioid epidemic.

The national settlement will result in almost $6 million to the state of Colorado to help address the opioid crisis, according to a news release from Weiser’s office Thursday. 

Publicis is one of the largest healthcare advertising companies in the world, with 40 offices and 11 brands, according to court documents.

According to filings in Denver District Court Thursday, the company helped opioid manufacturing companies like Purdue Pharma market and sell opioids, the release said. 

In the time Publicis and Purdue worked together, from 2010 to 2021, Purdue paid Publicis over $70 million for “dozens of unfair and deceptive marketing schemes,” according to court documents.

Publicis developed sales tactics that used recordings of personal health-related, in-office conversations between patients and providers, according to court documents. They promoted branded opioids including OxyContin, Butrans and Hysingla.

The company created many of the materials Purdue used when meeting with prescribers, including materials designed to lure prescribers and patients into extending prescription lengths and often worked to do just that.

From 2010 to 2019, Purdue was Publicis’ top opioid client and Publicis was Purdue’s top marketing partner. 

In the last 20 years, almost 10,000 Coloradans have died from prescription opioid overdose, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). 

These deaths have left lasting financial and emotional impacts on communities, the criminal justice system and the health care system, according to the news release.

Starting in the mid-1990s, opioid manufacturers used aggressive sales strategies to sell prescription opioids, which led to a rise in opioid prescriptions across the country and caused a rise in abuse, dependence, addiction and death. 

Publicis recognized the harm it caused and will disclose thousands of documents detailing their work with opioid companies like Purdue Pharma on a public website and will no longer accept client work related to opioid-based Schedule II or III controlled substances, according to the news release.

By agreeing to the settlement terms, Publicis is taking responsibility and helping efforts to address the opioid crisis, Weiser said in the release.

“I appreciate Publicis’ acknowledgment of the harm their actions caused the people and communities hurt by the opioid epidemic,” Weiser said. “Like other companies who contributed to lost and ruined lives, Publicis placed profit ahead of responsible behavior and aided the efforts of Purdue Pharma and others that marketed addictive drugs.”

The Attorney General’s Office has made over $750 million in legal settlements with drug manufacturers and other companies for their role in the opioid crisis and convened the Colorado Opioid Abatement Council.

Last year, the state got the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Excellence in the Application of Opioid Litigation Principles Award for its planning and regional collaboration, including a roadmap of evidence-based strategies to help the state address the crisis.