Fentanyl

More than a half dozen pharmaceutical executives and managers were taken into custody by federal officials this month on charges that they "led a nationwide conspiracy to bribe medical practitioners to unnecessarily prescribe a fentanyl-based pain medication and defraud healthcare insurers," federal prosecutors based in Massachusetts said in a statement.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Carmen Ortiz alleges that several former employees of Insys Therapeutics, Inc. - including the once CEO and president of the company - conspired to bribe medical staff in several states to get them to prescribe a specific pain medication.

The medication, "Subsys," is a sublingual spray intended to treat cancer patients experiencing intense moments of pain. The powerful narcotic is a highly addictive substance that can cause respiratory distress and death when taken in high doses or when combined with other substances.

Federal officials allege doctors prescribed the drug to many patients - the majority of whom were not diagnosed with cancer - in exchange for bribes and kickbacks.

The indictment alleges the company paid doctors at a rate connected to the number of Subsys prescriptions written, masquerading as speaking fees. A doctor in Florida is said by federal prosecutors to have received $275,000 over three years from the company.

Insys is alleged to have continued to provide their medications to pain clinics considered "pill mills" - easy locations for people to get prescriptions. An Insys employee wrote in an email obtained by prosecutors, of an Illinois doctor, "He is extremely moody, lazy and inattentive. He basically just shows up to sign his name on the prescription pad, if he shows up at all." The indictment alleges this doctor was another that received speaking fees from the company.

"They contributed to the growing opioid epidemic and placed profit before patient safety," said Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division.

Seven former executives and managers employed by Insys were taken into custody by law enforcement Thursday.

On the day of their arrests, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention released a report showing that the rate of overdose deaths caused by synthetic opioids like fentanyl increased by close to 75 percent last year. The number of opioid deaths in the U.S. surpassed 30,000 for the first time in recorded history, rising above the number of gun homicides in 2015.

Close to a decade ago, the number of gun homicides was five times higher than fatal opioid overdoses, the Washington Post reports.

Michael L. Babich, the former CEO and president of the company, is charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering, conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Law. Former vice president of sales Alec Burlakoff, former director of sales Richard M. Simon, and former regional sales directors Sunrise Lee and Joseph A. Rowan face RICO conspiracy, mail fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Law. Michael J. Gurry, the former vice president of managed markets, is charged with RICO conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy.

Insys said in a statement that the company is "committed to complying with laws and regulations that govern our products and business practices." The statement said the company is cooperating with "all relevant authorities" in ongoing investigations.