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Former Insys Sales Rep Pleads Guilty to Paying Kickbacks to Doctors

June 1, 2018

In the latest development over alleged misconduct by Insys in promoting its fentanyl-based opioid Subsys, a former sales representative admitted to participating in a scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe the drug under the pretext of paying speaking fees.

Michelle Breitenbach pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit commercial bribery, admitting to participating in a scheme to pay doctors kickbacks in exchange for off-label promotion of Subsys according to New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal.

The scheme involved a sham Speakers Bureau Program in which doctors were ostensibly compensated for speaking engagements to educate other doctors about the drug. In fact, the doctors involved in the program were paid for prescribing more Subsys, receiving free meals at high-end restaurants and in many cases receiving speaking fees even if they did not speak.

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