Ex-Insys CEO Accused of Bribing Doctors to Prescribe Fentanyl Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy, Mail Fraud
He’s just one of the top executives facing scrutiny at Insys, which allegedly provided kickbacks for doctors willing to prescribe Subsys.
U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Alabama/Handout/Reuters
A former pharmaceutical CEO accused of bribing doctors to prescribe his company’s fentanyl-based cancer treatment agreed Wednesday to plead guilty to conspiracy and mail fraud, according to a tweet from Law360 reporter Aaron Leibowitz. Reuters reports that a group of top executives at Insys, including ex-CEO Michael Babich, are accused of conspiring to pay doctors kickbacks for prescribing Subsys, a fentanyl-based cancer drug. Fentanyl has since become the deadliest drug in America, accounting for 29 percent of fatal overdoses in 2016. Babich isn’t the first executive to fall; Insys’ ex-head of sales Alec Burlakoff has already pleaded guilty. But founder John Kapoor and the four other named defendants have maintained their innocence. As a result of the plea, Babich will also forfeit $3.5 million.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.