Now ex-Reckitt boss Bart Becht is dragged into the Indivior opioid scandal

Reckitt Benckiser has been dragged deeper into the Indivior scandal after two of its bosses were accused of making ‘fraudulent’ claims about opioid addiction drugs.

Current Reckitt chief Rakesh Kapoor and predecessor Bart Becht – two of the highest-paid executives ever at British companies – both made false claims about the safety of Suboxone, according to American prosecutors.

The explosive allegations are contained in a 47-page indictment published by the US Department of Justice, which accuses former Reckitt subsidiary Indivior of using shaky evidence to drive up sales of Suboxone.

No charges have been brought against Reckitt, Kapoor or Becht. The two bosses are only referred to by their corporate titles in the document and Reckitt is dubbed ‘Company A’.

But the charges lay bare what prosecutors say was a desperate attempt by Reckitt and Indivior bosses to defend their stranglehold on sales of opioid addiction treatments in the US.

They are accused of making fraudulent claims that the film version of Suboxone was safer than an older tablet variety – despite there being little evidence to support this.

Shaun Thaxter, the current chief executive of London-listed Indivior, which was spun off from Reckitt in 2014, is also accused of making misleading statements but has not been charged.

Prosecutors say Indivior was worried about its Suboxone tablets being copied by rivals when a patent ran out in 2009, so it developed a film version of the drug and tried to persuade regulators it was safer. It claimed the film was less likely to be abused or mistakenly taken by children.

The drug was approved but regulators rejected assertions it was safer. Despite this, in August 2010, Thaxter told Reckitt executives including Becht that the company was launching a ‘full blitz campaign’ to promote Suboxone film which would stress safety benefits.

Days later, Becht emailed Indivior bosses urging them to ‘convert [patients] from tablets to films, thereby protecting our net revenues in the USA’. 

He then ‘materially, falsely, and fraudulently’ claimed Suboxone film posed less of a risk to children in Reckitt’s annual report in March 2011, the indictment says.

And as Kapoor succeeded him as boss, Reckitt and Indivior ramped up their safety claims, prosecutors allege. As sales of tablets suffered, Suboxone film went on to take 70 per cent of the market.

Reckitt and Indivior both declined to comment on the specifics of the claims.

Becht did not respond to a request for comment.