Insys Therapeutics files for bankruptcy

pharmafile | June 11, 2019 | News story | Manufacturing and Production |  DoJ, Subsys, bankruptcy, insys, pharma 

Opioid drugmaker Insys Therapeutics has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after agreeing to pay $225 million to settle charges brought against them by the Department of Justice (DoJ).

On 5 June, the Arizona-based firm agreed to pay $225 million to the DoJ, just a month after four former executives and Insys founder John Kapoor were found guilty of engaging in a racketeering conspiracy surrounding its fentanyl spray Subsys.

On Monday Insys filed for bankruptcy in the US Bankruptcy court in the District of Delaware to facilitate a sale of its assets, which include Subsys.

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The bankruptcy filing comes just five days after Insys agreed to pay the $225 million sum to settle the federal government’s criminal and civil lawsuits against them, over allegations they bribed doctors to prescribe the powerful opioid Subsys.

The Justice Department is now Insys’ biggest unsecured creditor. In documents filed on Monday Insys asked the court to sell its assets to pay creditors more than $260 million in debts.   

“After conducting a thorough review of available strategic alternatives, we determined that a court-supervised sale process is the best course of action to maximize the value of our assets and address our legacy legal challenges in a fair and transparent manner,” Insys CEO Andrew G. Long said in a statement to NPR.

Insys had $175 million in assets and $262.5 million in debt as of 31 March. Shares in Insys fell by 66% on announcement of the news.

Louis Goss

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