Lawmakers are investigating three pharmaceutical companies for selling cancer drugs at nearly 100 times their cost. Elijah Cummings, a Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, started the probe in October. Cancer drugs for testicular cancer, colon, and other cancers are in short supply, creating a shadowy but lucrative market for pharmaceutical companies.
According to the results of the probe so far, three pharmacies in North Carolina and Maryland purposefully diverted the cancer drugs from patients to drug wholesalers, who then resold the drugs at a steep cost. Wholesalers opened their own "sham pharmacies" to sell the drugs, and would mark prices up tenfold in some cases. For example, investigators discovered that Jessica Hoppe, the president of a drug wholesaler called International Pharmaceuticals Inc., applied to get a pharmacy license to sell drugs to long-term care facilities. However, instead of selling to long-term care facilties, she funneled drugs into her wholesale business within a day or two of ordering them for the pharmacy.
The Food and Drug Administration recently warned about the rising problem of prescription drug shortages, including anesthesia and nutrition medications. In fact, the number of drugs in short supply has risen from 56 in 2006 to 220 in 2011. Problems like the wholesale scammers only exacerbate this shortage, and the investigators have promised to look into 19 other possible sham pharmacies.
recently named in the 2009 edition of Best Lawyer's In America, David Mittleman has been representing seriously injured people since 1985. A partner with Church Wyble PC—a division of Grewal Law PLLC—Mr. Mittleman and his partners focus on medical malpractice, wrongful death, car accidents, slip and falls, nursing home injury, pharmacy/pharmacist negligence and disability claims.
One Comment
Dezso Sablack
"Just type in “60 Minutes” and you will see 80% of our pills come from overseas, and many are phony and killing millions of Americans. Just type in Netflix and you will see in their document section of the FDA has very little evidence of any pills that have been tested. These 535 persons running this country are part of that Mafia type Medical against the human race. They consider us the same as Animals in today’s environment and our body parts are worth millions to the medical industry. This is by far the biggest industry there is, and just think who purchased the Funeral homes in the last 20 years and where some parts come from. Not looked into, by those 535 persons running this country. Our species is not much different than the Dog species. Put them all together and the pit bull, and Doberman would wind up killing the unprotected dogs that we need and love. This is what is happening to the middle class The pit bulls and the Dobermans are not much different than the one percent, and those 535 persons running this country are doing to the middle class Historic gains with the 175 million people getting the trillions in phony printed money, while many the lower 175 million hit the homeless row. This is profiteer Democracy at work. If the bubble bursts, the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. The paper to print those phony dollars will not run out, but everything you have is disappearing. Everyone I know is losing or has lost or is going to lose all their savings, retirement, home values, and on and on to those profiteer democracy extortionists, especially the $5,000.00 an hour Attorneys, and many like them, that are winding up with everything we own. 50% of the Doctors are killing for profit for their hospitals, and governed by the Pharmacy Companies, who have almost full control over the Doctors. It is not unusual to go on the net and see major hospitals, research teams, technology and then look at the doctors doing the opposite in the same hospitals. They are taught and influenced, in many ways to obey the pharmaceutical companies. Not long ago the research Doctors were e-mailing the 535 persons about the machines the Pharmacy companies where killing many of Americans. Guess what, the FDA arrested them. Type in Burzynski on Netflix documentary’s and you cannot believe what you see. With our hidden taxes, we have 65% tax rate; the same as most industrial countries, only they have free medical and education and very little property depreciation."
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