Will Directors and Officers Have Insurance Coverage for Opioid Claims?

Dozens of state and local governments have filed suit against opioid manufacturers and distributors to recover the costs of addressing the opioid epidemic. Individual corporate directors and officers are now also facing criminal and civil liability for the effects of the opioid crisis. In October 2017, the federal prosecutor in Massachusetts brought criminal charges against John Kapoor, founder and director of Insys Therapeutics, manufacturer of the opioid Subsys, for various felonies, including RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and conspiracy to violate the Anti- Kickback Law. The prosecutor has also charged six of his colleagues. Meanwhile, in November 2017, the New Jersey Attorney General added Mr. Kapoor to its opioid civil suit against Insys for Mr. Kapoor’s alleged direct involvement in a scheme to promote ‘‘off label’’ uses of Subsys.