SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The owner and CEO of a Utah pharmacy has been accused of mislabeling large amounts of malaria drugs imported from China that outgoing President Donald Trump incorrectly touted last year as a “miracle” treatment for the coronavirus.
Dan Richards, the operator of Meds In Motion, was charged Monday with a misdemeanor for receiving large amounts of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine from an unregistered manufacturer in China that were incorrectly labeled as Boswellia serrata extract, an herbal supplement, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration revoked permission to use the drug to treat the coronavirus last year after Trump’s comments, saying evidence shows the drug is unlikely to be effective against the virus.
Boswellia serrata extract, also known as Indian frankincense, is used to treat inflammation, arthritis, asthma and inflammatory bowel disease, the Tribune reported.
Meds in Motion didn’t return an email seeking comment Tuesday. Richards’ listed attorney, Greg Skordas, didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment Tuesday.
Utah Department of Health spokesman Tom Hudachko declined to comment about the lawsuit and allegations.
The pharmaceutical executive had been diligently promoting the drug to state officials as he was buying up vast quantities of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine powder that he planned to mix with zinc and encapsulate, the Tribune reported. In a March 19 email, Richards told state officials he had acquired more than 800 kilograms (1,764 pounds) of the drug, enough to treat about 400,000 state residents.
Richards allegedly obtained the falsely labeled package about three weeks later. It is not currently clear whether the 800 kilogram (1,764 pound) purchase he described to officials included the more than 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds) of hydroxychloroquine and 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of chloroquine that federal prosecutors say Richards received in a mislabeled shipment from China.
