Rough Draft presents a reading and conversation with Evan Hughes, author of The Hard Sell: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup. This book tells the fascinating story of pharmaceutical execs who used every trick in the book to push their potent and addictive painkiller, fentanyl, onto consumers—reaping millions in profits before their tactics were exposed.
Hughes will be joined by moderator Sam Graham-Felsen’s, author of Green (one of the New Yorker’s “Books We Loved in 2018”) and writer for New York Times, Washington Post, and elsewhere.
This event is free with food, drink, or book purchase. Seating is first-come, first-serve, but RSVPs via Eventbrite are appreciated. (They help us stay in touch in case of changes, and they give us an idea of how many people to expect.)
Come for the discussion; stay for the book signing and meet-and-greet to follow. The Hard Sell can be purchased at Rough Draft (or purchased online for pickup at the event). Please note: Rough Draft is an all-ages establishment; however, this event may contain adult language and content.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
John Kapoor had already amassed a small fortune in pharmaceuticals when he founded Insys Therapeutics. It was the early 2000s, a boom time for painkillers, and he developed a novel formulation of fentanyl, the most potent opioid on the market.
Kapoor was eager to make the most of his innovation. He built a team willing to pull every lever to close a sale, deceiving doctors and insurance companies and going so far as to recruit an exotic dancer. The drug was approved only for cancer patients in dire condition, but the company's leadership pushed it more widely, and together they turned Insys into a Wall Street sensation.
But several insiders reached their breaking point and blew the whistle. They sparked a sprawling investigation that would lead to a dramatic courtroom battle, breaking new ground in the government's fight to hold the drug industry accountable in the spread of addictive opioids.
With colorful characters and true suspense, The Hard Sell offers a bracing look not just at Insys, but at how opioids are sold at the point they first enter the national bloodstream--in the doctor's office.