A new lawsuit out of North Carolina alleges that Insys Therapeutics is responsible for illegally promoting a fentanyl-based cancer pain medication to enhance their own profits amidst the opioid epidemic blooming in the United States.
There are strict federal rules in place regarding how drugs of all types, including pain medications, can be promoted safely. While pain medications play an important role in helping people who are suffering, the drugs must be marketed in accordance with government laws or else a lawsuit may be filed.
The opioid lawsuit was announced by the North Carolina Attorney General and comes while a federal investigation has already accused several former Subsys executives of engaging in a strategy to bribe doctors to prescribe it despite the high risks.
The opioid lawsuit alleges that Insys paid kickbacks to doctors to prescribe Subsys for treatments that were not recommend. Subsys is primarily used to treat cancer pain. Subsys executives are also accused of deceiving insurers into providing prescriptions for the company’s product.
The North Carolina opioid lawsuit alleges deception, a coordinated scheme of kickbacks and fraud in the marketing of the drugs.
The synthetic opioid has been named in numerous recent investigations. It is an under-the-tongue spray intended for use with cancer patients.
Although Subsys may provide pain relief for patients affected by cancer, it was not approved for other uses that executives allegedly promoted.
Furthermore, according to opioid lawsuits, doctors were never warned about the high rate of addiction that could develop if the drug fell into the hands of someone outside of a legally prescribed use situation.
Similar Opioid Lawsuits
Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts last year brought charges against the founder of the company when six other managers and executives for Insys were also charged. According to that case in 2012, others schemed to pay bribes and speaking fees to medical practitioners who prescribed the medication and to induce insurers fraudulently into approving payment for it.
The opioid lawsuit comes in the midst of numerous other opioid lawsuits filed against manufacturers of popular pain medications.. In recent years, the opioid lawsuit has been evaluated by many states and cities coping with the aftermath of the addiction epidemic. This has also raised awareness about the tactics used by drug manufacturers to both create and market pain medications safely.
The opioid epidemic across the United States has led many cities, counties and state governments to come forward and name the manufacturers of these medications as responsible for promoting these drugs for patient use despite the fact that they carried significant risks of addiction.
Those costs of addictions have spilled over into many communities in the form of addiction-related health treatments and overdoses.
If you are interested in filing an opioid lawsuit, consult with the attorneys at McDonald Worley today. The case review is free.