Texas Doctor Pleads Guilty to Buying Misbranded Cancer Drugs from Supplier of Fake Avastin
Dr. Eduardo Miranda, an oncologist practicing in Laredo, Texas, was accused of illegally importing non-FDA approved cancer medications from a known source of counterfeit Avastin.
In December 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that Dr. Eduardo Miranda had pleaded guilty to charges that he imported non-FDA approved cancer medication into the United States for treatment of his patients. Miranda faces a year in jail and over $1 million in fines.
Miranda bought the misbranded cancer medication from 2007-2009, reports the Graham-Leader News.
He purchased the misbranded cancer drugs from Quality Specialty Products (QSP), the same foreign distributor that was implicated in the importation of counterfeit Avastin into the United States, reports the DOJ. Along with Montana Healthcare Solutions and Bridgewater Medical, QSP was named in a 2012 FDA warning letter sent to medical practices all over the United States. The letter that warned physicians that the unapproved medications they purchased from these sources may have included counterfeit Avastin.
The FDA warning letters sent to U.S. physicians were very clear regarding the danger posed to patients by these illicit purchases, stating “According to information received by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), your medical practice has purchased medications from Quality Specialty Products (QSP), a foreign supplier that may also be known as Montana Health Care Solutions. QSP’s products are distributed through Volunteer Distribution based in Gainesboro, Tennessee. Many of the products sold and distributed by these suppliers have not been approved by the FDA. FDA has learned that one of the products is a counterfeit version of Roche’s Avastin 400 mg/16 mL. The Agency is very concerned that these products may cause harm to patients because they are unsafe or ineffective.”
Since 2011, the FDA has warned 145 medical practices in 29 states concerning their business dealings with unlicensed prescription cancer drug distributors.
Learn more about these doctors purchasing misbranded cancer drugs by downloading “Black Market Cancer Drug Cases 2007-2013.”