Insys Therapeutics Plummets 16% After Several Former Executives, Employees Were Arrested, Charged By DOJ

Insys Therapeutics Inc. shares dropped as much as 16% in Thursday afternoon trade after the Department of Justice said several former employees, including its former chief executive offer and president, had been arrested and charged with bribing doctors to push a highly addictive opoid pain medication and defrauding health insurers. Six former executives and managers allegedly used bribes and kickbacks to push prescriptions of "Subsys" -- a fentanyl-based pain medication intended for cancer patients with intense pain -- with doctors prescribing the drug to a good deal of patients not diagnosed with cancer. The DOJ said that the former employees made big profits off the alleged scheme, for which they could face prison time and large fines. Insys Therapeutics shares, which were valued at $9.10 per share Thursday afternoon, have dropped 68.0% year-to-date, compared with a 9.8% rise in the S&P 500 .