McCaskill Slams Insys’ Use of Speakers and Compensation Programs

The latest opioid report from the office of Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) delves into Insys Therapeutics’ sales policies for Subsys and concludes that the drugmaker used unethical methods to increase sales of its fentanyl product.

“Fueling An Epidemic: Inside The Insys Strategy for Boosting Fentanyl Sales” — which reviewed 1.6 million pages of internal company documents — found that Insys paid physicians to discuss Subsys with their peers. The company also rewarded sales reps for convincing health care providers to write patients high-dosage prescriptions for the controversial oral spray and punished them when they failed to generate enough revenue.

An outside consultant hired by Insys found serious compliance issues with the speakers programs, such as an absence of safety content and no clear disclosure of Insys sponsorship.