STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: Drug makers spent $120 million lobbying Congress in 2019; more investors are bullish in Biogen’s Alzheimer drug

And so, another working week will soon draw to a close. Not a moment too soon, yes? This is, you may recall, our treasured signal to daydream about weekend plans. Our agenda is exceedingly modest. We hope to catch up on some reading, hang with one or more of our short people, and take a nap or three. And what about you? This is a fine time to reach out to someone special. You could stimulate the economy with a shopping jaunt. Or you could ready your taxes — remember, the Treasury needs as many as dollars as it can get in order to pay for golf outings taken by a certain someone in the Oval Office. Well, whatever you do, have a grand time. But be safe. Enjoy, and see you soon.

The founder of Insys Therapeutics (INSYQ) was sentenced to 5½ years in federal prison  for conspiring to bribe doctors to prescribe an addictive opioid painkiller, the Boston Globe says. U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs gave John Kapoor, 76, easily the longest prison sentence of seven defendants convicted in the racketeering case, despite pleas from his lawyer and from Kapoor to show mercy because of his age and accomplishments. Earlier in the day, Alec Burlakoff, a former Insys executive who dressed as a giant fentanyl spray bottle in a rap video that championed the drug, was sentenced to 26 months in prison for participating in the conspiracy. 

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