California supplier of adulterated chemo drugs gets two years

ST. LOUIS The California man who supplied a St. Louis area doctor and others with adulterated chemotherapy drugs was sentenced in federal court here Thursday to two years in prison.

James Newcomb, of La Jolla, owned Ban Dune Marketing Inc., and supplied unapproved foreign chemotherapy drugs to dozens of U.S. doctors from 2008 to May 18, 2011, court documents show.

Some of the drugs had specific storage and handling requirements, but Newcomb and others failed to ensure that those needs were met, officials said earlier this year.

Newcomb pleaded guilty in February to one felony count of conspiring to distribute adulterated prescription drugs.

In addition to the prison time, Newcomb will forfeit $1.4 million and a Land Rover seized during the investigation, prosecutors said.

Dr. Abid Nisar, 60, who has offices in Florissant, East St. Louis and Granite City, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of introducing misbranded prescription drugs into interstate commerce and admitted buying $352,504 worth of drugs from Newcomb and co-defendant Sandra L. Behe, 44, also of La Jolla.

Nisar was sentenced to two years of probation, 200 hours of community service and a $25,000 fine. He also agreed to pay back more than $1 million for submitting false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for reimbursement of the cancer drugs as part of a civil settlement.

Behe was sentenced to five years of probation and 200 hours of community service.

This sentence aptly reflects the serious nature of this crime, said Patrick J. Holland, head of the FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations in Kansas City. Americans must have confidence that their health care providers are receiving and administering drugs that fully comply with U.S. laws. The FDA will aggressively pursue all those who seek to profit from causing the importation and distribution of foreign drugs that are adulterated and misbranded.

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California supplier of adulterated chemo drugs gets two years