Pharmaceutical firm employees pleaded not guilty to charges they schemed to pay doctors kickbacks

Latest: Corruption and Money Laundering.

Ex-Insys employees plead not guilty in U.S. drug-kickback case

Jonathan Roper (2nd L), a former Insys Therapeutics Inc district sales manager,
and Fernando Serrano (C), a former sales representative at the
company walk with Serrano’s lawyer, Jude Cardenas (R),
 out of federal court after they pleaded not guilty to engaged in a scheme to
...REUTERS/Nate Raymond

Two former pharmaceutical firm employees pleaded not guilty to charges they schemed to pay doctors kickbacks for prescribing certain painkillers. (Reuters).

By Nate Raymond | NEW YORK

Two former Insys Therapeutics Inc employees pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges that they engaged in a scheme to pay doctors kickbacks including speaker fees to prescribe a drug containing the opioid fentanyl.

Jonathan Roper, a former Insys district sales manager, and Fernando Serrano, a former sales representative, entered their pleas in Manhattan federal court to charges including that they violated the federal Anti-Kickback Statute.

Their pleas followed their arrests in June and came amid various probes involving Insys and its fentanyl-based sublingual spray Subsys as U.S. law enforcement seek to combat a national opioid abuse epidemic.

Insys, based in Arizona, is not identified by name in the indictment against Roper, of Commack, New York, and Serrano, of Manalapan, New Jersey.

But details in the charging papers about the company and drug match Insys and Subsys. A LinkedIn profile for Serrano shows he previously worked for Insys.

Insys did not respond to requests for comment...

Readmore: