NEWARK, N.J. (WCBS 880) -- A New Jersey doctor has been charged with prescribing a "dangerous" narcotic in exchange for bribes and kickbacks from the company that made the powerful opioid.
Mukaram Gazi, 51, of Marlboro, owned and maintained a urology practice with locations in Freehold, Hamilton, Howell and Toms River.
According to an indictment, Gazi solicited and received over $130,000 in bribes and kickbacks from Insys Therapeutics, based in Arizona, in exchange for prescribing its drug.
That drug was allegedly Subsys, a powerful opioid narcotic designed to rapidly entered a person's bloodstream upon being sprayed on a tongue.
The FDA approved Subsys solely for the management of pain in cancer patients who are already receiving and are tolerant to around-the-clock therapy for their persistent pain.
Court docs said Gazi didn't treat patients suffering from such pain, and was not able to prescribe fentanyl-based pain medication. But in exchange for bribes, he began prescribing it to several patients in an unnecessary manner.
The indictment said the kickbacks Gazi took in were disguised as payments for educational presentations regarding the product to licensed practitioners — but they were ultimately a sham, and were instead social events.
Gazi is also accused of prescribing high doses of Adderall to a pharmacy owner who filled many of his Subsys prescriptions.
Gazi also submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare, NJ Medicaid and other insurance providers for the prescriptions of Subsys and Adderall that he wrote, according to court docs. Those were ultimately not eligible for reimbursement.
Gazi was indicted on charges of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, receiving kickbacks, health care fraud and conspiring to unlawfully distribute dangerous narcotics.
His attorneys in a statement said Gazi denies the allegations.
"Dr. Gazi vehemently denies the allegations in the government's indictment as patently false and without any basis in fact and is confident he will be exonerated," said attorneys Mohamed H. Nabulsi, Damian P. Conforti and Robert C. Scrivo, Partners at Mandelbaum Salsburg. "Contrary to the government's claims, at no time did Dr. Gazi accept bribes from Insys in return for prescribing any medication to his patients; rather, all treatment he rendered and medications he prescribed to his patients were medically necessary and appropriate and based on his independent medical judgment."
The lawyers added, "In indicting Dr. Gazi, the government opted to overzealously prosecute him based merely on his participation in an industry-standard speaker program from nearly a decade ago that is permitted under both federal law and state law. In essence, despite the ubiquity of pharmaceutical speaker programs and their recognized propriety under the law, the government is attempting to criminalize a physician's participation in these legally recognized practices. Dr. Gazi intends to vigorously defend against the government's allegations so as to preserve his ability to continue to deliver excellent patient care."
