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# Ex-CEO Gets 6 Months in Drug Marketing Case
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/ex-ceo-gets-6-months-in-drug-marketing-case/
- Published: 2020-10-23T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T16:33:49.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, FDA Policy/General, #legacy-id-D5147945

The Western Virginia District Court has sentenced former Indivior CEO **Shaun Thaxter** to six months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty for his role in causing the introduction into interstate commerce misbranded shipments of the opioid drug Suboxone Film (buprenorphine). He was also ordered to pay a fine of $100,000 and forfeit $500,000\. Indivior was previously known as Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals, which paid $1.4 billion in 2019 to resolve its liability related to Suboxone’s marketing.

Suboxone Film is approved for use by recovering opioid addicts to avoid or reduce withdrawal symptoms. “Thaxter was charged in connection with Indivior’s misrepresentations regarding the safety of Suboxone Film,” a [government release](https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdva/pr/suboxone-manufacturer-indiviors-former-chief-executive-officer-sentenced-jail-time?ref=fdaweb.com) says. “While Thaxter served for years as Indivior’s chief executive, he was in a position to ensure that doctors, patients, and insurers were dealt with honestly. Instead, Thaxter failed to prevent efforts to build profits through misleading safety claims, which led to millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains for Indivior.”