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Drugmaker settles after accused of pushing cancer painkiller for off-label use

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Drugmaker settles after accused of pushing cancer painkiller for off-label use

The state of Oregon has reached a $1.1 million settlement with a pharmaceutical company that allegedly marketed its powerful cancer drug for mild neck and back pain, the Oregon Department of Justice said Wednesday.

Chandler, Arizona-based Insys Therapeutics Inc. manufactures the opioid Subsys, which is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat breakthrough pain in cancer patients.

The FDA says Subsys contains fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance. Experts, such as Michael Gavin, Duluth, Georgia-based president of medical cost management company PRIUM, have said fentanyl has no place in workers compensation. Recent drug trend reports by pharmacy benefit managers list the drug among the most expensive long-acting opioids.

Insys allegedly provided some doctors with financial incentives to increase Subsys prescriptions, and marketed the potent opioid for off-label uses, including non-cancer neck and back pain, according to a statement by the Oregon Department of Justice.

Insys has agreed to pay a $1.1 million settlement, $533,000 of which will go to the state of Oregon, and the remaining $567,000 will go to an organization — to be identified by Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum — that helps prevent opioid abuse and misuse, the statement says.

Insys' general counsel did not immediately return a request for comment.

Attorney General Rosenblum also said in the statement that the National Association of Attorneys General will receive a $2.1 million grant from the Oregon Department of Justice “to help combat the misuse and abuse of opioids.”

According to the statement, the grant “comes from the $28 million Neurontin Settlement Grant program created from the 2004 Neurontin multi-state settlement that was led by the Oregon Department of Justice.”

Neurontin is approved to treat pain from damaged nerves and certain types of seizures, according to the FDA.

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