The manufacturer of the fentanyl-based pankiller Subsys has been accused of promoting opioid overprescription and has been recently charged with consumer fraud by the New Jersey attorney general.

Reported by NJTV News, the attorney general for the state of New Jersey is charging INSYS Therapeutics with consumer fraud. Attorney General Chris Porrino said that INSYS has had “blatant disregard for the law” which put hundreds of lives in danger.

In fact, Porrino said, this disregard has led to the death of at least one resident of New Jersey.

Allegedly, INSYS Therapeutics has been promoting opioid overprescription by aggressively marketing the very dangerous drug for broad patient use, and not simply for the specific pain killing purpose for which it was intended.

Subsys, or fentanyl sublingual spray, is a drug that was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in January 2012 for use as a drug for cancer patients dealing with severe pain.

Fentanyl is a highly addictive opiate that is administered via the mucous membranes of the mouth. It is a drug that comes with many warnings and precautions and can only be accessed from a pharmacy that is part of the TIRF REMS Access program.

TIRF REMS stands for Transmucosal Immediate Release Fentanyl Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy. Essentially, it is a program that all patients, doctors and pharmacies must subscribe to in order to mitigate the risk of misuse, addiction and opioid overprescription in those who need Subsys and other fentanyl products for cancer breakthrough pain.

Companies Accused of Contributing to Opioid Overprescription

Many, including Porrino, believe that Subsys has been overprescribed and thus, companies like INSYS have been both adding to the country’s opioid crisis while at the same time padding their pockets.

Porrino says that INSYS flooded “the market with a fentanyl product 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine” by using aggressive marketing tactics. He accuses INSYS of promoting opioid overprescription and trying to entice doctors with illegal kickbacks including false speaking and consulting fees. In his charge, Porrino said, “We are investigating a number of physicians who prescribed this substance. One of those doctors has already been suspended.”

According to NJTV News, the opioid crisis has gotten out of control due largely to opioid overprescription. Eighty percent of new users of heroin were first addicted to prescription meds according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse. In New Jersey alone last year, sixteen hundred people died of opioid overdose.

Porrino blames in part INSYS’s regular misleading of health insurance providers in order to help get Subsys covered. Allegedly, INSYS did more than $74 million in Subsys sales in New Jersey alone between 2012 and 2016.

Indeed, in 2017, two former sales reps for INSYS pled guilty when accused of taking part in a huge physician kickback scheme that paid doctors $1,000 to $3,000 in “honorarium” fees to give brief speeches at dinners to coworkers and other professionals.

Other states besides New Jersey have sued INSYS for similar allegations and many have also sued Purdue Pharm for the overpresciption of OxyContin, another opioid with a highly addictive nature.

In general, opioid addiction lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual opioid addictino lawsuit or opioid addiction class action lawsuit is best for you. Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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