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Boston – A former pharmaceutical executive accused of involvement in a ploy to corrupt doctors by prescribing a powerful painkiller once gave the floor to a doctor on which the company was pressing for its patients to be treated drugs, his former colleague said Tuesday.
The jurors heard the testimony of the second day of the federal trial in Boston against the founder of Insys Therapeutics John Kapoor and four other former leaders. Sunrise Lee, whom prosecutors described as a former exotic dancer, was hired as regional sales manager while she had no experience in the pharmaceutical world.
NATE RAYMOND / REUTERS
The leaders are accused of conspiring to pay bribes to doctors in the form of fees for simulated events that were presented as an opportunity for other doctors to familiar with the drug, a fentanyl spray that creates a strong addiction. In reality, according to the prosecutors, the events were mainly social gatherings allowing doctors and their friends to enjoy a good meal.
Kapoor's 75-year-old lawyer and others denied any wrongdoing. Kapoor's lawyers told the jurors at the opening of the trial that all criminal activity had been orchestrated by Alec Burlakoff, a former vice-president of sales, who had pleaded guilty to bribery and bribery. had to testify against Kapoor.
Kapoor manufactures Subsys a fentanyl-based aerosol drug approved only for the treatment of acute pain caused by cancer. Prosecutors said Kapoor helped design a plan to convince doctors to prescribe the powerful opioid to non-cancer patients, reported CBS News' Jim Axelrod.
Holly Brown, Insys Sales Representative, told the jurors that her superiors were encouraging her to focus her attention on a doctor known for prescribing many opioids in Chicago and Northwestern Ontario. Indiana. Brown said she feared for Dr. Paul Madison, describing her office as a "shady operation" performed from a "shabby shopping mall in a not-so-nice neighborhood of the city."
Despite this, Madison became an orator for Insys and began to get paid, Brown said. She said she was struggling to convince other doctors to attend Madison Conferences because of her unethical reputation. Madison would invite his friends.
"The idea was that these were not really meant to be educational programs, but that they were supposed to be rewards, essentially, for doctors," Brown said. .
Brown describes after a dinner in Chicago with Lee, Madison and another sales representative at a club called The Underground. At one point, she saw Lee sit on Madison's lap and "bounce" with Madison's hands "uncomfortably on his chest".
Lee's lawyer, Peter Hortsmann, denied the allegation in his opening statement on Monday after prosecutors. He had mentioned and accused him of "objectifying him in the same way as Alec Burlakoff and Dr. Madison," reported the Boston Globe.
On Tuesday, Hortsmann tried to show that Brown's memory was faulty, pointing out that they had all been drinking. He also asked Brown if she had been warned that Madison had "some reputation among the representatives" and it seemed that Madison "seemed to be enjoying" Lee's club. Brown stated that she had been warned and that she agreed with this last observation.
Madison was sentenced in the fall for a case unrelated to various charges, including health care fraud. He should be sentenced in March. Madison's lawyer said Tuesday that his client had made no comment.
According to CBS News, Insys paid 18,000 payments to physicians in 2016, for a total amount of more than $ 2 million. CBS News has identified doctors specializing in headaches, back pain specialists and even a psychiatrist who has received thousands of dollars to promote the drug.
The testimony will continue Wednesday in the trial, which could last more than three months.
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