TRENTON, NJ (Nov. 22, 2019) Kenneth Sun, M.D., 58, of Easton, PA, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks in U.S. District for the District of New Jersey.
Sun admitted that from 2012 to 2016, he conspired to solicit and receive more than $140,000 in bribes and kickbacks from Insys Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Arizona, in exchange for him prescribing more than 28 million micrograms of Subsys, a powerful opioid narcotic that is designed for rapid entry into a patient’s bloodstream by being sprayed under the tongue.
Subsys contains fentanyl, a synthetic opioid pain reliever that is approximately 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. The U.S. FDA approved Subsys solely for the “management of breakthrough pain in cancer patients who are already receiving and who are tolerant to around the clock therapy for their underlying persistent cancer pain.” Dr. Sun admitted that he broke the law when he prescribed Subsys to patients for whom Subsys was completely medically unnecessary, not eligible for insurance reimbursement and unsafe.