Helmed by film-maker David Yates who directed Harry Potter films in its final stages, Pain Hustlers is all set to be released on the streaming giant. Termed as one of the much-awaited crime drama films that stars multiple Hollywood A-listers including Chris Evans, Emily Blunt, Andy Garcia, Catherine O’Hara, Brian d’Arcy James, Chloe Coleman, Jay Duplass, and more in the leading roles. Talking about starcast, Emily Blunt plays the character of Liza Drake, Chris Evans plays Pete Brenner, Andy Garcia as Dr. Jack Neel, Catherine O’Hara as Jackie Drake, and more. Going by the synopsis, Pain Hustlers is a crime drama film and its synopsis says, "Dreaming of a better life for her and her young daughter, Liza (Emily Blunt) lands a job from Pete (Chris Evans) at a failing pharma start-up, where Liza’s charm, drive, and guts catapult her into the high life and the company into the center of a criminal conspiracy with dire consequences." With the trailer revolving around office politics & crime, the question arises whether Pain Hustlers is a true story or Pain Hustlers is a real story or not. To know the answer continue reading-
Is Pain Hustlers a true story?
The answer is yes and no at the same time. While the character of Liza played by Emily Blunt is fictional, Pain Hustlers is a true story based on the best-selling crime novel The Hard Sell: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup by writer Evan Hughes. Pain Hustlers is a real story based on the infamous American pharmaceutical company Insys Therapeutics whose main product was Subsys, a sublingual liquid form of the drug fentanyl. Not only this, the Arizona-based company had employed nefarious racketeering tactics with prescription drugs.It is pertinent to mention here that in 2019 Insys Therapeutics filed for bankruptcy 10 days after it agreed to pay a whopping $225 million to settle separate criminal and civil cases brought by the U.S. Justice Department. For, those who don't know much about Insys Therapeutics, below is what you should know-
All About Insys Therapeutics
As per the available information, the pharma company was founded in 1990 by American multi-millionaire John Kapoor. John served as CEO and president after former CEO Michael Babich was arrested. Kapoor retired from Insys in 2017 due to racketeering conspiracy charges and was ultimately replaced by Saeed Motahari. Insys' main product was Subsys, a sublingual liquid form of the drug fentanyl. Fentanyl is an extremely fast-acting and powerful opioid used to relieve peaks of pain in cancer patients. Notably, fentanyl is also used in illicit drugs, especially cocaine and it indeed is dangerous for lives.
Insys and its executives are facing legal cases related to the opioid crisis and marketing activities by the company, including accusations of bribes and misleading advertising. Several company executives were convicted of racketeering in a jury trial rendered in May 2019. It is pertinent to mention here that before filing for bankruptcy in 2019, the company was ranked No. 52 on the Deloitte Fast 500 North America list in 2016. In 2017, U.S. Senator (then) Claire McCaskill released a report and audio recording of an Insys representative allegedly falsely claiming to represent a doctor's office and lying about a patient's diagnosis in order to circumvent prescribing rules for Subsys.