Insys Therapeutics was an American specialty pharmaceutical company based in Chandler, Arizona. Its 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.Founded in 1990, the company and its executives are facing legal issues 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.Insys filed for bankruptcy in 2019. The filing came just 10 days after the company agreed to pay $225 million to settle separate criminal and civil cases brought by the U.S. Justice Department. Products
In addition to Subsys, Insys Therapeutics marketed Syndros, a synthetic THC product, and was working toward approval of other cannabis derivatives. Despite delta-9 THC being classified as a Schedule I substance by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Syndros was classified as a Schedule II substance used in adults to treat loss of appetite (anorexia) in people with AIDS who have lost weight, as well as nausea and vomiting caused by anti-cancer medicines (chemotherapy) in people whose nausea and vomiting have not improved with usual anti-nausea medicines. Syndros was the first and only FDA-approved liquid THC formulation, which allows for fast absorption, flexible dosing, and a potential solution for patients who may prefer a liquid medication.
Pimecrolimus is an immunomodulating agent of the calcineurin inhibitor class used in the treatment of atopic dermatitis (eczema). It is available as a topical cream, once marketed by Novartis (however, Galderma has been promoting the compound in Canada since early 2007) under the trade name Elidel. Medical uses
It has been proven to be effective in various inflammatory skin diseases, e.g., seborrheic dermatitis,  cutaneous lupus erythematosus, oral lichen planus,  vitiligo, and psoriasis. Tacrolimus and pimecrolimus are both calcineurin inhibitors and function as immunosuppressants. Side effects
In January 2006, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Elidel packaging would be required to carry a black box warning regarding the potential increased risk of lymph node or skin cancer, as for the similar drug tacrolimus, whereas current practice by UK dermatologists is not to consider this a significant real concern and they are increasingly recommending the use of such new drugs.Importantly, although the FDA has approved updated black-box warning for tacrolimus and pimecrolimus, the recent report of the American Academy of Dermatology Association Task Force finds that there is no causal proof that topical immunomodulators cause lymphoma or nonmelanoma skin cancer, and systemic immunosuppression after short-term or intermittent long-term topical application seems an unlikely mechanism. Another recent review of evidence concluded that postmarketing surveillance shows no evidence for this systemic immunosuppression or increased risk for any malignancy. However, strong debates and controversies continue regarding the exact indications of immunomodulators and their duration of use in the absence of active controlled trials.