General Counsel to Leave Troubled Insys, Retention Bonus on the Line
Mark Nance joined the Phoenix-based company last October when it was facing criminal and False Claims Act allegations that it bribed doctors to prescribe one of its popular opioid drugs, Subsys.
July 23, 2019 at 05:05 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Corporate Counsel
Mark Nance, GC of Insys Therapeutics Inc.
Mark Nance, chief legal officer and general counsel of the troubled drug company Insys Therapeutics Inc., plans to resign from the company July 31, apparently giving up a $613,000 retention bonus.
Nance, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, joined the company last October as a member of its senior management team. At the time the Phoenix-based pharma company was facing criminal and False Claims Act allegations that it bribed doctors to prescribe one of its popular opioid drugs, Subsys.
His hiring was part of a major management shakeup at the company that also included a new CEO and chief financial officer. Three months ago the company agreed to pay hefty retention bonuses to the three executives if they remained on the job for one more year, until April 2020.
“The retention bonuses include certain terms and conditions, including full clawback if any such officer's employment terminates under certain conditions within twelve months of the agreement date,” according to the company's 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It did not say what the “certain conditions” were, and the company did not immediately return messages Tuesday.
Following the bonuses, the company reached a $225 million global settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice on June 5. Insys also signed a five-year corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Attorney Geoffrey Hobart from the Washington office of Covington & Burling represented the company on both agreements. Hobart was traveling Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.
Then, on June 10, Insys filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. In a recent SEC filing the company said it had a cash balance as of June 10 of $37.4 million.
The filing said Insys also has about $4.6 million held in retainers for services, including nearly $3.5 million with Weil, Gotshal & Manges.
Nance came to Insys after serving as senior vice president and global general counsel at pharmaceutical giant Mylan N.V. Prior to joining Mylan in early 2012, he was general counsel at General Electric Co.'s pharmaceutical and life sciences businesses.
Nance also served in the office of policy planning of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, focusing on areas of technology and antitrust policy and for seven years as a founding member of the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity.
At Insys Nance succeeded general counsel Franc Del Fosse, who was moved to the newly created position of senior vice president of corporate affairs and left the company a few months later.
Meanwhile eight other former executives, including founder and chairman of the board John Kapoor, have been convicted in the bribery scheme.
Earlier this month the Arizona attorney general's office filed suit against Kapoor and two other former executives for allegedly engaging in a marketing scheme to increase sales of Subsys.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Plaintiff Narrowly Avoids Dismissal Over Lengthy Complaint Filed in Federal Court
4 minute read
'Discordant Dots': Why Phila. Zantac Judge Rejected Bid for His Recusal
3 minute read
Pittsburgh Jury Tries to Award $22M Against J&J in Talc Case Despite Handing Up Defense Verdict
4 minute read
Pharma Company Faces Breach-of-Contract Claim Over $1.3 Million in Unpaid Invoices
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Court Rejects San Francisco's Challenge to Robotaxi Licenses
- 2'Be Prepared and Practice': Paul Hastings' Michelle Reed Breaks Down Firm's First SEC Cybersecurity Incident Disclosure Report
- 3Lina Khan Gives Up the Gavel After Contentious 4 Years as FTC Chair
- 4Allstate Is Using Cell Phone Data to Raise Prices, Attorney General Claims
- 5Epiq Announces AI Discovery Assistant, Initially Developed by Laer AI, With Help From Sullivan & Cromwell
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
