New Jersey is among a growing number of states suing pharmaceutical companies for deceptive marketing practices related to opioids. | AP Photo/Mel Evans Lawsuit alleges 'greed' drove Insys Therapeutics' opioid sales in N.J.

State Attorney General Chris Porrino filed a lawsuit on Thursday against Insys Therapeutics, alleging an “evil” scheme to drive sales of its synthetic opioid pain medication Subsys.

Porrino charged the specialty pharmaceutical company with deceptively marketing the drug for off-label uses at higher-than-recommended doses and submitting false health insurance claims to boost the market share of Subsys, according to the complaint filed in Superior Court in Middlesex County.


"The conduct alleged in our lawsuit is nothing short of evil," Porrino said in a statement. "We contend that the company used every trick in the book, including sham speaking and consulting fees and other illegal kickbacks, in a callous campaign to boost profits from the sale of its marquee drug Subsys."

Porrino projects that more than 2,000 New Jersey residents will have died from opioid-related overdoses in 2016, once the final numbers become available.

A spokesperson for Insys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Subsys was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat cancer pain, but several states, including New Jersey, allege Insys Therapeutics aggressively marketed the drug for off-label uses. The drug, which is delivered as an under-the-tongue spray, is a type of synthetic opioid called fentanyl that is 50 times to 100 times more potent than morphine.

The company’s sales representatives allegedly made lists of providers to target in New Jersey, including dentists and podiatrists, who already had high opioid prescribing patterns, according to the lawsuit. The complaint also alleges that Insys “rewarded loyal and active prescribers” with free prescriptions and paid millions of dollars in kickbacks to doctors.

According to the lawsuit, the Arizona-based company got insurers to pay for off-label prescriptions by “misrepresenting patients’ diagnoses and treatment histories,” including false claims to New Jersey's State Health Benefits Plan, which provides health insurance coverage for public employees.

The state health plans paid around $10.3 million for Subsys from the time the drug launched in 2012 through the third quarter of 2016, according to the complaint. More than $74.2 million worth of the drug was sold in the state in the same period.

“Insys launched a business plan that we allege was propelled by titanic greed and corporate irresponsibility, and we’re committed to holding them accountable for it,” Porrino said.

The lawsuit alleges that the company’s “greed led to the death” of at least one New Jersey resident who overdosed on the powerful painkiller.

The state is seeking the maximum civil penalties for each of the three counts of fraud and three times the maximum civil penalty for one count of false claims, plus any costs and fees incurred by the state in the lawsuit.

New Jersey is among a growing number of states suing pharmaceutical companies for deceptive marketing practices related to opioids. Hours after the New Jersey lawsuit was announced, Massachusetts reached a $500,000 settlement with Insys over similar allegations.

The lawsuit comes as Gov. Chris Christie has a national role as chair of a presidential commission on combating opioid abuse and drug addiction.

The Republican governor recently announced a partnership between pharmaceutical companies and the federal government to develop non-addictive pain treatment options, but he has deflected questions about the responsibility of pharmaceutical companies in fueling the opioid crisis. At previous events, Christie said he didn’t "want to be involved in it and mess up anything the attorney general is working on” and that the “judicial process will take care of those issues.”

Porrino, Christie’s former chief counsel, was appointed by the governor in June 2016.

On Thursday, when asked for comment, the governor’s office referred to Christie’s previous public remarks, citing the pending litigation.

“We’ll refer you to that wealth of prior remarks — without getting into individual companies — until the Governor opts to offer something additional,” Christie spokesman Brian Murray wrote in an email.

Read the complaint here.