The former head of Chandler-based pharmaceutical company Insys Therapeutics will pay the state of New Jersey millions to settle a lawsuit alleging the drug manufacturer helped fuel the opioid crisis. It's the latest settlement in court battles spanning several years.
John Kapoor, now age 77, will pay New Jersey $5 million to settle a lawsuitby the state that claimed his company bribed doctors to overprescribe its signature opioid, Subsys, an under-the-tongue fentanyl-based spray designed for extreme breakthrough pain that is 50 times stronger than heroin.
The New Jersey settlement requires he make two payments to the state — a lump sum of $1 million followed by another of $4 million.
Kapoor was already sentencedlast January to more than five years in federal prison for his role in fueling the nation's opioid crisis — but will not report to prison until April after a federal judge granted a seventh postponement last week, citing the COVID-19 pandemic.
