John Kapoor
John Kapoor | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Nath Kapoor 1942 or 1943 (age 81–82)[1] |
| Nationality | Indian American |
| Alma mater | Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai SUNY Buffalo |
| Known for | Large shareholder of Akorn Pharmaceuticals Founder and chairman, Insys Therapeutics |
| Spouse | Editha Kapoor (deceased) |
| Children | 4 |
John N. Kapoor (born 1942/1943) is a former billionaire pharmaceutical entrepreneur and now convicted felon. He is the founder of Insys Therapeutics.[2] In 2017, Kapoor was arrested and charged with RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and other crimes. He was convicted on all counts in 2019.[citation needed] He also owns a large stake in the generic drugmaker Akorn.[2][3]
Early life
John Nath Kapoor[4] was born in Amritsar, India, into a family of modest means. He later moved to Mumbai, where he graduated from the Institute of Chemical Technology (formerly UDCT) with a degree in pharmacy.[5][6] He went to University at Buffalo on a scholarship and obtained a doctorate in medicinal chemistry in 1972.[6]
Career
He began his career in 1972 at Invenex Pharmaceutical on Grand Island, NY.
He worked his way up at LyphoMed, took the company public and oversaw its operations through a scandal involving lax production standards that resulted in several patients' deaths.[2][7]
Personal life
He moved from India to Lake Forest, Illinois. He has four children and now lives in Phoenix, Arizona. The John and Editha Kapoor Charitable Foundation, which supports the fight against cancer, was named after his late wife Editha, who died of breast cancer.[1] The University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences named their building John and Editha Kapoor Hall, after a donation to the school by John, to honor him and his late wife. On June 3, 2019, the University at Buffalo passed a resolution to remove Kapoor's name from the UB Pharmacy School's building in light of Kapoor's RICO conviction.[8]
Legal issues
In October 2017, Kapoor was arrested in Arizona and charged with RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to commit wirefraud, and conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Law.[9] The charges stem from allegations that he participated in a scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid manufactured under the brand name Subsys by his company Insys Therapeutics.[10] U.S. Attorney William Weinreb said the charges reflected authorities' commitment to combat the opioid epidemic.[10] Kapoor is also alleged to have conspired to defraud health insurance providers.[9] Shortly after the charges were announced, Kapoor resigned from the Board of Insys Therapeutics.[11]
On May 2, 2019 Kapoor was convicted of engaging in a racketeering conspiracy to increase the profits of his company's opiate painkiller, Subsys.[12]
References
- ^ a b c "John Kapoor". Forbes. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
- ^ a b c "Pharmaceuticals Developer John Kapoor Is New Billionaire". Forbes. 4 October 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ^ "Stocks". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
- ^ "Akorn Inc". opencorporates. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- ^ "ICT Mumbai". www.ictmumbai.edu.in. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ a b "John N. Kapoor, PhD '72". Buffalo.edu. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
- ^ Herper, Mathew (25 October 2015). "An Opioid Spray Showered Billionaire John Kapoor In Riches. Now He's Feeling The Pain". Forbes. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ "John and Editha Kapoor Hall". The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ a b "Founder and Owner of Pharmaceutical Company Insys Arrested and Charged with Racketeering". www.justice.gov. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- ^ a b Nate Raymond (26 October 2017). "Billionaire Insys founder charged in U.S. opioid bribe case". Yahoo! News. Reuters. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
- ^ Wiles, Russ (30 October 2017). "Arrested billionaire resigns from Chandler's Insys Therapeutics board". The Arizona Republic. Arizona, USA. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
- ^ Walker, Joseph (2 May 2019). "Insys Co-Founder and Former Employees Convicted of Racketeering Conspiracy". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2 May 2019.