Top executives at major opioid company found guilty of criminal racketeering

[homersapien 11,388]

Too little, too late but at least a step in the right direction.

Good article on the causes of the opioid epidemic.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/5/3/18528123/insys-fentanyl-trial-verdict-john-kapoor-opioid-epidemic

Executives at a major opioid company, Insys Therapeutics, were found guilty by a federal jury on Thursday for, among other misdeeds, bribing doctors to prescribe their fentanyl-based painkiller — in another sign that the federal government and the public are increasingly ready to hold individuals and companies responsible for their role in the nationwide opioid epidemic.

The verdict includes the company’s founder, John Kapoor, as well as four other executives: Richard Simon, former national director of sales; Sunrise Lee, former regional sales director; Joseph Rowan, also former regional sales director; and Michael Gurry, former vice president of managed markets. The executives were found guilty of criminal racketeering.......

 

..........As a group of public health experts explained in the Annual Review of Public Health, the companies exaggerated the benefits and safety of their products, supported advocacy groups and “education” campaigns that encouraged widespread use of opioids, and lobbied lawmakers to loosen access to the drugs.

The result: As opioid sales grew, so did addiction and overdoses.