A former pharmaceutical executive accused of joining in a scheme to bribe doctors into prescribing a powerful painkiller once gave a lap dance to a doctor the company was pressuring to get his patients on the drug, her onetime colleague said Tuesday.
Jurors heard the testimony on the second day of the closely watched federal trial in Boston against Insys Therapeutics founder John Kapoor and four other former executives. They include Sunrise Lee, whom prosecutors have described as a former exotic dancer who was hired to be a regional sales manager even though she had no experience in the pharmaceutical world.
The executives are charged with conspiring to pay doctors kickbacks in the form of fees for sham speaking events that were billed as opportunities for other physicians to learn about the drug, a highly addictive fentanyl spray. In reality, prosecutors say, the events were mainly social gatherings for doctors and their friends to enjoy a fancy meal.
Lawyers for Kapoor, 75, and the others have denied all wrongdoing. Kapoor's attorneys told jurors as the trial opened Monday that any criminal activity was orchestrated by Alec Burlakoff, former vice president of sales, who pleaded guilty to the kickback scheme and is expected to testify against Kapoor.
The case has put a spotlight on the federal government's efforts to go after those it says are responsible for fueling the deadly drug crisis.
Holly Brown, who worked as an Insys sales representative, told jurors that her superiors encouraged her to focus her attention on a doctor who was known for prescribing lots of opioids in Chicago and northwest Indiana.
Brown said she had concerns about Dr. Paul Madison, describing his office as a "shady operation" being run out of a "dingy strip mall in a not-so-nice area of town."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content