INSYS Therapeuitcs, opioid, opioid drug, John Kapoor, INSYS trial – CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS/AP) – Insys executives are guilty of paying doctors to boost sales of a fentanyl spray meant for cancer patients – actions that may have caused some people to become addicted to opioids – a jury determined Thursday afternoon.

John Kapoor of Insys Therapeutics Inc. (Image credit: CBS News)

Insys Therapeutics Inc. founder John Kapoor and four other former employees of the Chandler, Arizona-based company were all found guilty of conspiring to pay doctors bribes and kickbacks to boost sales for the drug that’s meant for cancer patients with severe pain.

The jury deliberated for 15 days.

The U.S. Attorney’s office tweeted out the verdicts as they were announced.

Evidence against the executives included testimony from two Insys executives who pleaded guilty and a rap video the company made to encourage its salespeople to push the drug. The federal government said many people who did not need it were prescribed the spray.

Kapoor previously said he committed no crimes and that he would be vindicated at trial. The 75-year-old stepped down from the company’s board of directors after his 2017 arrest.