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Press Release

Justice Department Files Suit Against New Jersey Company For Adulterated And Misbranded Medical Devices

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Jersey

WASHINGTON –  The Justice Department, on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey against Pharmaceutical Innovations Inc. and its president Gilbert Buchalter, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman and Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the department’s Civil Division, announced today.

According to the complaint, the defendants violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) by manufacturing and distributing adulterated and misbranded medical devices.  The devices at issue are gels that hospitals and other caregivers use to take ultrasound scans.  Under the FDCA, a device manufacturer must: comply with current good manufacturing practice requirements; obtain required premarket approval or clearance before distributing its devices and notify the FDA and follow-up on any reports of serious injuries or deaths associated with its devices.  The government alleges that the company violated each of these requirements.

“Patients should be able to have confidence that the healthcare products they use are safe,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “Actions like the one we are taking here reinforce the law that manufacturers adhere to strict approval and production requirements. We are committed to stopping those who don’t.”

“Today’s action furthers the FDA’s mission of ensuring that all medical devices sold to hospitals and other caregivers are produced in conformance with current good manufacturing practice requirements,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Branda.  “Device manufacturers who undermine this mission will be held accountable.” (DRAFT)

The complaint alleges that FDA inspections at Pharmaceutical Innovations’ Newark, New Jersey, facility have identified numerous and repeated deviations from current good manufacturing practices, including that the company has failed to show that it: validated its dry heat sterilization and dry heat treatment processes; routinely monitors its water systems to ensure that the water is suitable for manufacturing medical devices and routinely sanitizes the tubing and connections of its water systems to ensure objectionable microorganisms do not reside in the inner piping surface.  The complaint further alleges that Pharmaceutical Innovations has not sought FDA approval or clearance for the new ultrasound gels it has brought into the market.  As a result, according to the complaint, the defendants’ products are adulterated and misbranded devices under the FDCA.

According to the complaint, in February 2012, a Michigan hospital reported that it had traced infections among 16 surgical patients to a specific gel made by Pharmaceutical Innovations.  However, the company failed to submit a medical device report to the FDA after becoming aware of these infections as required by law.  FDA testing on samples of that gel identified bacterial contamination, and after the United States filed a seizure lawsuit, relevant lots of Pharmaceutical Innovations’ ultrasound gel were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service.

The complaint alleges that, despite numerous warnings from FDA, the defendants have failed to bring their operations into compliance with the law.  The Justice Department will seek a permanent injunction requiring the defendants to cease manufacturing, processing, packing, labeling, holding and distributing devices until they comply with the FDCA and applicable FDA regulations.

The FDA referred this matter to the Justice Department. The Consumer Protection Branch of the Civil Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey filed this case on behalf of the United States.

The government is represented by Trial Attorney Daniel Crane-Hirsch of the Consumer Protection Branch, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy Muzzy of the U.S. Attorney's Office's Health Care and Government Fraud Unit, and Associate Chief Counsel Julie Dohm of FDA's Office of Chief Counsel.

A complaint is merely a set of allegations that, if the case were to proceed to trial, the government would need to prove by a preponderance of the evidence.

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Pharmaceutical Innovations Complaint

Updated August 20, 2015