Alec Burlakoff, the former sales executive for Arizona-based Insys Therapeutics, admitted in federal court on Friday that he was directed to enlist and bribe physicians to boost sales of the company's fentanyl-based pain drug, reports NBC.
Driving the news: In wrapping up the fifth week of the nation's first federal trial spotlighting Big Pharma leadership, founder John Kapoor and the 4 other former Insys executives on trial continue to claim their innocence. Evidence included a music video Burkaloff — who pleaded guilty in November — made, featured employees pitching doctors to prescribe their drug, Subsys.
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has presented senior White House staff with his plan to effectively ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes in convenience stores throughout the United States, according to two sources familiar with the meeting.
Behind the scenes: Gottlieb met this afternoon in the West Wing with officials from the Domestic Policy Council, the White House counsel's office and the National Economic Council. Joe Grogan, the director of the Domestic Policy Council, arranged the meeting.
House Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) wrote to Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos demanding answers on why the platform is pushing products and content that can discourage parents from vaccinating their children.
Why it matters: The anti-vaxxer issue has grown increasingly urgent as measles — which was practically eradicated in the U.S. 20 years ago — is spreading in pockets of the country that have high non-vaccination rates. Schiff's expressed concern about paid advertising on Amazon that contains willful misinformation, requesting a more "responsible" approach to "this growing public health catastrophe."
