November 20, 2017:Queensbury Oncologist and Office Manager Plead Guilty in Connection with Administering Unapproved Drugs
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Food and Drug Administration
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U.S. Department of Justice Press Release
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For Immediate Release |
United States Department of Justice Northern District of New York |
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ALBANY, NEW YORK – Dr. Vincent Koh, age 72, and his wife and office manager Milly Koh, age 63, of Queensbury, New York, each pled guilty today to receiving and delivering misbranded drugs, a misdemeanor.
The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Jeffrey Ebersole, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations.
According to plea agreements signed by the Kohs, Vincent Koh is a New York State-licensed medical doctor specializing in the treatment of cancer patients, with offices in Poughkeepsie and Glens Falls, New York. Milly Koh manages the practice, and is responsible for ordering the drugs that her husband prescribes.
From July 2010 through March 2012, the Kohs ordered various discount oncology drugs, from foreign sources, that Vincent Koh prescribed and administered to patients. These drugs had not been approved by the FDA for distribution or use in the United States, and their labeling did not contain information required by law. As such, these prescription drugs were misbranded, and illegal to receive and provide to patients in the United States.
In entering guilty pleas, Vincent Koh and Milly Koh admitted that they regularly ordered and delivered to patients a drug labeled Mabthera. Generally, Mabthera contains rituximab, the same active ingredient found in the FDA-approved drug legally used and marketed in the United States as Rituxan. However, the drug ordered by Vincent Koh and Milly Koh came from an unapproved, foreign source, and its label did not bear adequate directions for use and other information required by the FDA.
Vincent Koh and Milly Koh are scheduled to be sentenced on March 20, 2018 by United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart. They each face up to 1 year in jail and 1 year of supervised release, and a maximum $100,000 fine. Each could also receive a sentence of probation. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
This case was investigated by the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph A. Giovannetti.
Topic(s):
Consumer Protection
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