Oct 26, 2017 - Health

Insys founder arrested for alleged opioid bribery scheme

Bob Herman

The Justice Department indicted pharmaceutical executive John Kapoor. Photo: J. David Ake / AP

Federal officials Thursday indicted John Kapoor, the 74-year-old billionaire founder and majority owner of drug company Insys Therapeutics. They alleged Kapoor and other Insys executives bribed doctors to prescribe the company's powerful fentanyl spray, called Subsys, to a wide array of patients — even though the medication is only intended for cancer patients.

Why it matters: CEOs and other top executives almost never get arrested for alleged misdeeds.

Go deeper: Matthew Herper of Forbes wrote about Kapoor and his controversial fentanyl product last year. Insys is an example of a company that has stoked the flames of the country's opioid epidemic.

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Insys founder arrested for alleged opioid bribery scheme

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