FRONTLINE producer and director Tom Jennings spoke with Boston Public Radio on Tuesday about the new documentary "Opiods, Inc." a FRONTLINE and Financial Times investigation. The documentary looks into John Kapoor, a pharmaceutical entrepreneur whose actions are said to have fueled the opioid crisis. Kapoor at first seems motivated to alleviate the pain of cancer sufferers similar to his wife, Jennings noted.
"He was a man who was compelled to create something good for the world, a drug that treats breakthrough cancer pain," he said. "But what we found was that he was always pushing the envelope with the things that he did. Each drug along the way that he developed had law suits, fines and a lot of complaints about the way he had done this before."
There was a backstory to Kapoor that would lead one to think that there was more to him than just complete benevolence to humanity, Jennings said. Kapoor, the founder of Insys Therapeutics which made the opioid painkiller Subsys, was sentenced to five years and six months in prison, back in January. He was found guilty of bribing doctors to prescribe the company's medication, Jennings added.
Watch Opiods, Inc. tonight at 10pm EST on your local PBS channel or stream it on YouTube.
