NEW YORK: Insys Therapeutics Inc, grappling with the prospect of bankruptcy after its founder was convicted on racketeering charges, agreed to pay US$225mil to settle US claims that the drug maker illegally sold opioid-based painkillers.
Under terms of the deal, Insys will pay US$195mil to resolve whistle-blower claims tied to a scheme that involved bribing doctors to over-prescribe the company’s powerful painkiller, Subsys, federal prosecutors said. The company also will pay a US$2mil criminal fine and forfeit US$28mil in cash.