Jan 23, 2020

Opioid company founder gets 5.5-year prison sentence

Bob Herman

Insys founder John Kapoor. Photo: Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

A judge has sentenced John Kapoor, the founder and former CEO of Insys Therapeutics, to 5.5 years in prison after a jury found him guilty in a bribery and racketeering scheme around the company's potent opioid drug, Subsys.

Why it matters: "Kapoor, 76, is now the highest-ranking pharmaceutical executive to be sentenced in a case linked to the opioid crisis," Reuters reports.

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Caitlin Owens

Opioid death rate in the U.S. decreased in 2018

Data: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Center for Health Statistics; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

Opioid deaths in the U.S. decreased in 2018 after years of steady increases, while the U.S. life expectancy ticked up for the first time in four years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday.

Between the lines: The effort to combat the opioid epidemic appears to be working, although the problem is far from solved.

Go deeperArrowJan 31, 2020 - Health
Marisa Fernandez

All the Trump associates convicted or sentenced in the Mueller investigation

Graphic: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

Longtime Trump associate Roger Stone was sentenced to 4o months in prison for crimes that include obstruction of justice, lying to Congress and witness tampering.

Why it matters: Stone is the seventh person to be convicted and sentenced for crimes unearthed by former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. His case has been at the heart of ongoing tensions between President Trump and his Justice Department.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 8 hours ago - Politics & Policy
Bob Herman

Electronic health record vendor took kickbacks from opioid maker

A fictitious electronic medical record. Photo: Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Electronic health record company Practice Fusion will pay $145 million after federal prosectors said the vendor accepted $1 million in kickbacks from an unnamed opioid manufacturer, and in return, Practice Fusion engineered its software to encourage more prescriptions of that company's opioids.

Why it matters: Several Practice Fusion executives not only booked the kickbacks as revenue, but also agreed to help peddle more of the company's painkillers during the height of the country's opioid epidemic that has killed tens of thousands of people.

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Keep ReadingArrowJan 28, 2020