Shaun Thaxter, former CEO of Chesterfield County-based pharmaceutical manufacturer Indivior PLC, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Abingdon to a misdemeanor criminal charge related to the U.S Justice Department’s probe into the marketing of Suboxone, Indivior’s opioid addiction treatment drug.
Thaxter pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in connection with Indivior’s misrepresentations to the Massachusetts state Medicaid program regarding the safety of Suboxone Film, a product made and marketed by Indivior. He has agreed to pay $600,000 in fines and forfeiture and faces up to one year in prison. He will be sentenced on Sept. 29 by U.S. District Court Judge James P. Jones in Abingdon.
“The public must be able to trust pharmaceutical manufacturers and their executives — particularly when they are marketing powerful opioids,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Bubar of the Western District of Virginia. “While he was the top executive of Indivior, Shaun Thaxter violated that trust, and must be held accountable.”
