Salesman for Fake Avastin Pleads Guilty to Felony
April 26th, 2013 // 2:14 am @ jmpickett
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There is yet more fallout from the fake Avastin problem from 2012. This time, a former sales representative for a pharmacy in Canada pleaded guilty for selling cancer drugs that were both misbranded and unapproved. The salesman’s name is Paul Bottomley and he faces 3 years in jail a fine of $250k and a year of house arrest. His sentence will be handed down this summer.
The federal government first got interested in the case in 2012 when FDA became aware of the drug supplier Montana Health Care Solutions. In the past, Bottomley owned MHCS and sold the firm to Canada Drugs. He still was an adviser and got a salary of $10,000 each month. He was listed on the website as the director of business development.
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At that time, about 20 medical offices bought fake Avastin. He had nothing to do with either importing or distributing the fake drug. But the feds suspected that he knew the drugs were both unapproved and misbranded.
FDA was informed from the UK about fake Avastin. This came after a wholesaler bought 165 packs from a drug supplier in the EU, and later it shipped 40 packs to the firm Volunteer Distribution in Gainesboro TN. That firm had a contract with QSP, with is a relative company of Canada Drugs.
In the US, some doctors knew they were buying cheap overseas versions of Avastin and some other drugs that were cheaper. For instance, MHCS charged about $1600 per vial for the fake Avastin, when the real price is $2300 per vial. Some doctors noted that they had billed some insurance companies for the higher prices.
Bottomley has agreed to give up one million dollars, and several pieces of real estate in Montana, and also a very expensive Aston Martin sports car. In total, Bottomley has given up about $6 million in assets.
The US attorney in Montana stated that Bottomley’s conduct was entirely caused by greed. He used the ‘grey market’ to sell unapproved drugs at cheap prices to make a big profit.
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