RI Doctor Charged in Insys Opioid Kickback Scheme

A Rhode Island doctor pleaded guilty to charges he was involved in a kickback scheme in exchange for writing prescriptions for an addictive fentanyl-based cancer pain drug produced by Insys Therapeutics Inc., according to a Reuters article.

The plea came as a result of investigations of Insys related to Subsys, an under-the-tongue spray that contains fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, the story said.

Prosecutors said that from 2012 to 2015, Jerrold Rosenberg schemed to receive $188,000 in kickbacks in the form of speaker fees from Insys, the story said. He also fraudulently claimed his patients suffered from cancer pain when they did not to get insurance approvals for Subsys, prosecutors said.

Read the Reuters story