U.S. Files Suit Against Tampa Pain Doctor Accused Of Getting Kickbacks From Drug Company

TAMPA, FL — The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that the federal government has filed a civil lawsuit against a Tampa pain management doctor accused of prescribing unnecessary prescriptions for a fentanyl-based spray and accepting kickbacks from the drug's manufacturer.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Dr. Edward Lubin participated in sham speaking event for Insys Therapeutics Inc. touting a breakthrough drug for cancer pain, and then was paid by Insys Therapeutics to prescribe unnecessary doses of Insys' fentanyl-based spray, Subsys, to patients.

In its complaint, the government said Lubin violated the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act by repeatedly accepting payments of up to $3,700 from Insys for attending sham speaking events and prescribing Subsys to patients who didn't need the drug.

These prescriptions were then submitted to and paid through the Medicare and TRICARE federal health care programs.

According to the complaint, between 2014 and 2016, Lubin prescribed Subsys to 61 patients, only nine of whom actually had cancer. The HHS said Lubin received more than $159,000 in payments from Insys and, in return, wrote Subsys prescriptions for which Medicare paid more than $2.8 million in claims.

The United States previously prosecuted Insys through the District of Massachusetts, and Insys agreed to a global resolution of the government’s separate civil and criminal investigations.

As part of the civil resolution, Insys agreed to pay $195 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act and, as part of the criminal resolution, it entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the government. Its operating subsidiary pleaded guilty to five counts of mail fraud, and the company was subject to a $2 million fine and $28 million in forfeiture.

Additionally, the United States criminally prosecuted the founder and four former executives of Insys. A federal jury in Boston found those executives guilty of, among other things, using Insys’ speaker program to bribe medical practitioners to prescribe Subsys.

This case against Lubin was investigated by the Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and Department of Defense Office of Inspector General.

Lubin is currently affiliated with Your Pain Relief Centers at 2333 W. Hillsborough Ave. According to the company's website, he has been practicing medicine for more than 20 years.

Lubin is board-certified in anesthesia, pain medicine and preventive medicine specialist who holds master's and doctorate degrees in experimental psychology and behavioral neuroscience from City University of New York Graduate Center and a medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. He completed a residency in anesthesia at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and a fellowship in interventional pain medicine at Yale University School of Medicine.