Indianapolis-based Anthem sued Insys Therapeutics in Chandler, Ariz., for allegedly issuing kickbacks to physicians prescribing its opioid painkiller and misrepresenting diagnoses to inflate reimbursement, Reuters reports.
Anthem filed the lawsuit in a federal court in Arizona. The suit claims Insys fraudulently obtained $19 million in reimbursements for its Subsys opioid painkiller, which is an under-the-tongue spray generally prescribed to cancer patients. Subsys contains fentanyl, a highly addictive and regulated synthetic opioid.
Two ex-Insys sales representatives, one the wife of the pharmaceutical company's former CEO, pleaded guilty last Tuesday to their role in providing kickbacks to providers prescribing Subsys. In December, Boston federal prosecutors charged six former Insys executives for allegedly writing a large number of Subsys prescriptions for patients without cancer to increase reimbursement.