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Alabama 'pill mill' doctor tied to Insys gets 21 years in prison
Source: Reuters
U.S. | Fri May 26, 2017 | 4:13pm EDT
Alabama 'pill mill' doctor tied to Insys gets 21 years in prison
By Nate Raymond
An Alabama doctor was sentenced on Friday to 21 years in prison for running two clinics with a colleague that prosecutors called a massive "pill mill," in a case tied to the U.S. probe of Insys Therapeutics Inc.
Xiulu Ruan, who with John Couch ran the Physicians Pain Specialists of Alabama clinics, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Callie Granade in Mobile, Alabama, after a jury in March found them guilty of racketeering conspiracy and other felonies.
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The case focused partly on two brand name instant-release fentanyl drugs, Subsys, manufactured by Insys, and Abstral, which was then manufactured by Galena Biopharma Inc.
According to prosecutors, while both drugs were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for cancer pain, Ruan and Couch prescribed Subsys and Abstral for off-label uses to treat neck, back and joint pain.
Prosecutors said the doctors received illegal kickbacks from Insys in exchange for prescribing Subsys and became among the top U.S. prescribers of the drug.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Alabama 'pill mill' doctor tied to Insys gets 21 years in prison
By Nate Raymond
An Alabama doctor was sentenced on Friday to 21 years in prison for running two clinics with a colleague that prosecutors called a massive "pill mill," in a case tied to the U.S. probe of Insys Therapeutics Inc.
Xiulu Ruan, who with John Couch ran the Physicians Pain Specialists of Alabama clinics, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Callie Granade in Mobile, Alabama, after a jury in March found them guilty of racketeering conspiracy and other felonies.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
The case focused partly on two brand name instant-release fentanyl drugs, Subsys, manufactured by Insys, and Abstral, which was then manufactured by Galena Biopharma Inc.
According to prosecutors, while both drugs were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for cancer pain, Ruan and Couch prescribed Subsys and Abstral for off-label uses to treat neck, back and joint pain.
Prosecutors said the doctors received illegal kickbacks from Insys in exchange for prescribing Subsys and became among the top U.S. prescribers of the drug.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-alabama-drugs-idUSKBN18M2GK