Yesterday, 26 October, Donald trump has announced a state of emergency in public health in the epidemic of opioids. On the same day, co-founder of the well-known manufacturer of opioid drugs John Kapoor was arrested in connection with charges of fraud and racketeering.
74-year-old John Kapoor is an American billionaire of Indian origin, who founded one of the largest pharmaceutical companies Insys Therapeutics, specializing in the production of fentanyl.
State prosecutors accused the tycoon in conspiring to promote the drug company through a fraudulent schemethat included a large number of bribes and kickbacks.
According to prosecutors, Kapoor and several other former senior leaders of the Insys conspired to bribe doctors so they wrote «a large number of recipes for patients, most of whom were not diagnosed with cancer.»
They allegedly «conspired to mislead and deceive the health insurance providers who are reluctant to approve payment for the drug that was prescribed to patients who do not have cancer».
«Today’s arrest and prosecution support of our ongoing efforts to combat the opioid crisis across the country,» said acting U.S. attorney William Weinreb.
Recall, the company Insys released the drug Subsys with the content of narcotic substances opioid that is 80 times stronger than morphine. He immediately became popular as an effective tool for reducing pain in people with cancer. The initial success of this medication turned Insys one of the most promising pharmaceutical companies of Arizona.
After some time there is information about cases of bribery of doctors by the company, which led to the beginning of the investigation. After that, the company’s profit fell sharply.
Kapoor has resigned as Executive Director in January 2017. On October 26 he was arrested and the case transferred to Federal court in Boston.
Prosecutors argue that he could face a maximum penalty of imprisonment for a term up to 20 years for participation in the organization of the fraudulent scheme.
