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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Attorney General's Office announced Monday that the state will collect nearly $4 million of a $350 million national settlement that has been reached with a marketing firm for its role in the opioid epidemic.
The multistate settlement is with global marketing and communication firm Publicis Health, who by agreeing to the terms, acknowledges its conduct caused harm.
As part of the agreement, Publicis Health will disclose on its website "thousands of internal documents" detailing its work helping Purdue Pharma and other opioid manufacturers market and sell opioids. The company will also stop accepting client work related to opioid-based narcotics.
Court documents show Publicis Health developed sales tactics relying on farming data from recordings of "personal health-related in-office conversations between patients and providers." The company was "instrumental" in Purdue Pharma's move to market OxyContin to providers based on patients' electronic health records, the attorney general's office said in a release.
"My office will continue holding accountable any individual or entity contributing to the 'death sentence' opioids have imposed on so many Utahns," Attorney General Sean Reyes said.
The agreement states Utah will receive approximately $3.93 million to help "hardest-hit" communities deal with the opioid crisis, build infrastructure and save lives, the attorney general's office said.
"No amount of money will ever restore the precious lives lost or destroyed by the greed of opioid manufacturers and those who helped market these drugs to an unsuspecting public," Reyes said. "But, hopefully these funds will help Utahns access treatment, recovery and prevent many more from ever becoming trapped in the vicious cycle of opioid addiction."
In the last 20 years, more than 4,800 Utahns have died from prescription opioid overdoses, according to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
"These deaths — and the impacts on thousands who have struggled with opioid addiction — have created considerable costs for our health care, child welfare and criminal justice systems. More significant than the dollars and cents in damage to our state, the impact on opioid addiction, substance use and overdose deaths has torn families apart, damaged relationships and devastated communities," the attorney general's office said.
Colorado led the multistate investigation into Publicis Health but attorneys general from all states, territories and the District of Columbia joined the settlement.
Monday's settlement is the latest in a series of legal battles undertaken by states in an attempt to combat the opioid crisis. In June 2023, Utah received $209 million from drug makers Teva and Allergan, as well as pharmacies CVS and Walgreens.
In total, Utah has received $495 million in various legal settlements with drug manufacturers for their roles in "fueling the crisis," the attorney general's office said. Most of the funding is split between the state and counties to support addiction treatment, prevention and recovery.
