Insys Therapeutics Inc. won bankruptcy-court approval Thursday to sell Subsys, the opioid that spawned criminal racketeering charges against its top executives and set off investigations and lawsuits that plunged the company into bankruptcy, WSJ Pro reported. It is believed to be the first bankruptcy sale of a pharmaceutical drug that played a role in fueling the nationwide opioid epidemic, said Judge Kevin Gross of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. At a court hearing, he said he would sign off on a sales agreement that includes safeguards to ward off future misuse of Subsys. The deal terms will keep Subsys on the market, but how it is prescribed and to whom will be closely watched, the judge said. Insys is a relatively small player in the universe of companies accused of profiting from the opioid crisis, and Subsys is a niche drug, or it was supposed to be, said Brian Edmunds, a lawyer for Maryland and other states that raised concerns about the sale and asked for restrictions to be built in. Lawyers for states have been active in Insys’s bankruptcy, intent on ensuring it sets high standards for other opioid bankruptcies, such as that of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP. The states dropped their objections to the Subsys sale at Thursday’s hearing after agreements were reached with the buyer, BTcP Pharma LLC.
