Another black eye for arrogant medical regulators

The TGA is Australia's version of the FDA. I don't blame the TGA for disliking alternative therapies (though some of the things they have approved -- such as statins -- are arguably no better) but that does not excuse ruinous Gestapo-type attacks on a law-abiding businessman and the destruction of his business. And the two devious feminazis at the heart of the TGA action -- Fiona Cumming and Rita Maclachlan -- are apparently still in their jobs! Since their hatreds have already cost the taxpayers huge sums, they should be relegated immediately to clerk-typist duties only. Their involvement in the destruction of records should in fact lead to criminal charges being laid against them

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions has dropped four criminal charges against former alternative medicine tycoon Jim Selim. Mr Selim, the founder of Pan Pharmaceuticals, had been charged with failing to disclose material information relating to four separate board meetings. Last month, Mr Selim won a $55 million compensation payment from the Federal Government over the collapse of his company.

Pan Pharmaceuticals went into liquidation in 2005 after a decision in 2003 by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to suspend its licence and withdraw 219 of its products.

Outside the court, Mr Selim said he felt vindicated by today's decision and he would push ahead with preparations for a $200 million class action against the TGA over the collapse of the company in 2003. "It's good because here everything's over, nothing's left, there's no deal or anything," Mr Selim said. "That's the end of it."

He said an apology from the Federal Government would mean a lot to him, following his "persecution" over the past five years. "I think so," he said, when asked whether an apology should be forthcoming. "I was disappointed with the TGA from the start."

His solicitor, Andrew Thorpe, said there was a "high degree of interest" from former customers and creditors of Pan Pharmaceuticals in pursuing a class action. "We believe that the sort of value of the class action will be in the order of $200 million and perhaps greater than that," Mr Thorpe said. There would most probably be hundreds of parties involved and a claim would be made on behalf of companies which lost money as a direct result of the TGA's handling of the Pan matter, he said.

Mr Selim said it had been a "hard five years", with today's case the latest in a long series of court actions involving Mr Selim and Pan Pharmaceuticals. "We hope justice will be done and we hope people who were damaged and hurt by the TGA action will get compensation, will get justice," he said.

Source

Note: The firm was convicted of offences to do with disregard for government paperwork requirements but those offences were some years before the matters referred to above. And in the paperwork case the judge found no individual culpable but rather a firm-wide indifference to government paperwork. That attitude may have contributed to the TGA animus against the firm but does not excuse their reckless shutting down of the firm. The paperwork matters should have been and were dealt with by a court