Seven Ohio Doctors to Pay $2.6 Million in Fines for Illegal Drug Imports
Seven Ohio oncologists will pay almost $2.6 million in fines and restitution for illegally importing cancer medications that had not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio on Jan. 29. All seven had pleaded guilty to causing the shipment of misbranded drugs, a misdemeanor violation. They will also serve probation.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
According to the attorney’s office, the doctors obtained Zometa, Kytril, Taxotere, Gemzar, Eloxatin and other drugs from outside the U.S., where the drugs were not approved by the FDA. A drug may be considered misbranded even if it is identical in composition to an FDA-approved drug and even if it was made by the same manufacturer in the same facility as the FDA-approved version, it said.