This month New York Times reporter, Katie Thomas, covers the indictment of two sales representatives from the drug company Insys for their involvement in essentially paying doctors to prescribe the opioid-based painkiller, Subsys. Designed to be prescribed for cancer patients only, the drug actually found its way into the hands of millions of others. In fact the investigation found that only 1% of the prescriptions filled were for cancer patients.
Subsys, the drug company’s only product, contains fentanyl, the drug believed to have been the cause of the musician Prince’s accidental overdose which led to his death. This highly addictive drug is delivered in a convenient spray form by Insys. And Thomas’ report shows that Fernando Serrano and Jonathan Roper, two of the company’s sales managers, had paid doctors as well as nurses in excess of $100k each to prescribe the drug to millions of their patients. Not only did they pay kickbacks for prescriptions, Roper and Serrano entertained these doctors with expensive dinners and trips to strip clubs.
Thomas states in her article that “Fentanyl can be deadly if it is prescribed in large doses to someone who has not already become tolerant to opioids. It is a drug that is 100 times more potent than morphine and abuse of which has been skyrocketing in the United States.” Even though the Federal indictment only targeted two of Insys’s employees and not the company itself, the law firm of Ronemus and Vilensky will stand up to any drug company that is shilling dangerous drugs and hold them accountable for the addiction and the ruined lives they have caused all in the name of greed. If you or someone you know is addicted to or has died because of prescription drugs, call us at 212 779 7070 or visit our website
