A number of US media have contacted the Danish National Board of Health with questions about the Danish company Caremed ApS in connection with the case of counterfeit 400 mg Avastin that was found on the US market.
Against this background, the Danish National Board of Health makes the following announcement:
The two managing directors of the company Caremed ApS have previously been behind the company Swan Medicare ApS. In 2007, the Danish Medicines Agency (now the Danish National Board of Health*) revoked Swan Medicare ApS's wholesale dealer's authorisation for medicinal products because the company had imported medicines from non-EU/EEA countries to Denmark without authorisation. The authorisation had already been suspended by the Danish Medicines Agency in 2006.
Due to the circumstances outlined below, the case was furthermore reported to the police:
- dispensing of medicines directly to consumers without authorisation
- storage of medicines without authorisation
- importation, receipt and possession of euphoriant substances (narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances) without authorisation.
The case was uncovered in 2006 when the company imported medicines illegally through the Danish customs, where the products were seized. In this case, no counterfeit medicines were found.
Since the two individuals established the company Caremed ApS in 2010, they have been subject to strict monitoring by the Danish Medicines Agency and now the Danish National Board of Health. However, we have not found that Caremed ApS has violated Danish medicines' law.
* The Danish National Board of Health and the Danish Medicines Agency merged on 1 March 2012 to form a new Danish National Board of Health.
