美国国家公共电台 NPR Criminal Trial Of Opioid-Peddling Drug Company Execs Goes To The Jury

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Closing arguments wrapped up today in the trial of onetime billionaire John Kapoor, the founder¹ of the pharmaceutical² company Insys Therapeutics and other former Insys executives are charged with racketeering. Federal prosecutors³ believe they oversaw⁴ a scheme to bribe⁵ doctors to prescribe an opioid painkiller⁶ and deceived insurance companies to make sure the drug was covered. Gabrielle Emanuel of member station WGBH has been following the criminal trial in Boston's federal courthouse.

Welcome to the program.

GABRIELLE EMANUEL, BYLINE⁷: Thank you.

CORNISH: Describe these allegations against Kapoor and his co-defendant.

EMANUEL: So all of it centers around this drug company Kapoor founded, called Insys Therapeutics, and the drug they developed, called Subsys. This is a fentanyl-based painkiller that the FDA approved to treat cancer patients in severe pain. Just for reference, it's up to a hundred times stronger than morphine and very addictive⁸. The allegations are twofold. First, bribery⁹. Insys Therapeutics allegedly created this phony speakers program as a way to pay doctors. But the doctors would only be paid as speakers if they wrote lots of prescriptions¹¹ for Subsys, and often these prescriptions were written at very high doses and to patients who didn't have cancer.

This second part of this alleged¹⁰ scheme involves lying to insurance companies. The goal was to get this very expensive medication, which can be tens of thousands of dollars a month, covered by insurance. Prosecutors say Insys had employees pretend to be from the doctor's office and make up diagnoses to make sure the medication got approved.

CORNISH: What's the significance of Kapoor and his co-defendants being charged with racketeering?

EMANUEL: Racketeering, or RICO laws, were originally designed to go after organized crime. So think mafia bosses and drug lords. So anytime it's used against corporate¹² executives - in this case, drug company executives - it's noteworthy. The federal government is essentially¹³ arguing here that the way this company did business was similar to the mob.

CORNISH: So the federal government spent more than nine weeks laying out their case, and I understand the defense¹⁴ attorneys rested in less than three days. So what was their argument?

EMANUEL: Yes. So their argument was basically, this drug is good, it really helps people. Kapoor was motivated by his personal experience, seeing his wife suffer from cancer as she died. But the real crux¹⁵ of the defense argument came during the cross-examination of government witnesses. The government relied on several former Insys executives, who pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution¹⁶ in the hopes of getting a more lenient¹⁷ sentence, and the defense basically argued that the jury shouldn't trust their testimony¹⁸. They said, it's those guys who ran the illegal scheme. Kapoor knew nothing about it. And they have a track record of lying. And on top of that, they have an incentive¹⁹ to lie. They want a more favorable sentence, and they're contradicting each other. So nothing is proved here.

CORNISH: There are a lot of pharmaceutical companies facing legal troubles amidst the opioid epidemic²⁰. How does this compare to the other lawsuits²¹ we're hearing about?

EMANUEL: The really big difference here is that this is a criminal trial. If Kapoor and his co-defendants are found guilty, they face up to 20 years behind bars. So by pursuing this criminal case, the federal government appears to be sending a message that they are holding drug companies accountable for their alleged role in fueling the opioid epidemic. But the risk is if they lose this case, if the jury returns a not guilty verdict, that could put the brakes on this strategy.

CORNISH: Gabrielle Emanuel from member station WGBH in Boston. She's been following the criminal trial of drug company executive John Kapoor. Closing arguments in the 10-week case finished today. The jury starts deliberations on Monday.

Thank you for sharing your reporting with us.

EMANUEL: Thank you.

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

3 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

4 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

5 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。

6 painkiller   

n.止痛药

参考例句：

• I shall persuade him to take the painkiller.我将说服他把药吃下去。
• The painkiller only provides him a short respite from his pain.止痛药仅仅让他在疼痛中有短暂的疏解。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。

9 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

10 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

11 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。

12 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

13 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

14 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

15 crux   

adj.十字形；难事，关键，最重要点

参考例句：

• The crux of the matter is how to comprehensively treat this trend.问题的关键是如何全面地看待这种趋势。
• The crux of the matter is that attitudes have changed.问题的要害是人们的态度转变了。

16 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

17 lenient   

adj.宽大的，仁慈的

参考例句：

• The judge was lenient with him.法官对他很宽大。
• It's a question of finding the means between too lenient treatment and too severe punishment.问题是要找出处理过宽和处罚过严的折中办法。

18 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

19 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

20 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

21 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句