Birmingham man indicted for allegedly distributing non-FDA approved drugs as cancer treatment

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — A Birmingham man was indicted on 28 counts of conspiracy and other fraud charges related to alleged purchasing, manufacturing, and distributing of drug products that had never been approved by the FDA.

Patrick Charles Bishop, 54, has been indicted on the following charges:

conspiracy, fraudulently introducing adultered drugs into interstate commerce
fraudulently introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce
fraudulently obtaining pre-retail medical products
creating false documentation for those products
knowingly possessing and trafficking in pre-retail medical products that he obtained by fraud

According to a statement sent out on the indictment, Bishop claimed the products were effective cancer treatments.

“The public must have confidence that the products they are receiving are safe and properly labeled,” U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona said in a statement. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to investigate and prosecute those who jeopardize the health and safety of the public.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office also said the charges in the indictment center on Bishop’s distribution of drug products reportedly contained a peptide called PNC-27, which has not undergone clinical trials in the U.S., nor has it been approved by the FDA for use in the United States as a drug to treat any disease, including cancer.

“The FDA’s requirements are designed to ensure that patients receive safe and effective medical treatments. Evading the FDA process and distributing unapproved, adulterated, and misbranded drugs to vulnerable Americans will not be tolerated,” said Justin C. Fielder, special agent in charge at the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations’ Miami field office.

The indictment alleges that Bishop obtained the peptide from GL Biochem, a manufacturer based in China. He then used the business name Best Peptide Supply, LLC, to buy PNC-27 from GL Biochem, and he used the business name Immuno Cellular Restoration Program, Inc., to sell PNC-27 products to others. He described his distribution of PNC-27 products as part of a research effort and made false representations to FDA personnel and others to the same effect.

He paid the manufacturer more than $600,000 in 2015 and 2016 for peptide product he received.

According to the indictment, Bishop allegedly assured the manufacturer on multiple occasions that he would use the peptide solely for laboratory research purposes. He used the peptide to make homemade suppositories in his kitchen in Birmingham, and at a warehouse, he rented in Pelham.

The indictment claims Bishop marketed drug products to alternative medicine doctors, cancer patients, and others as an effective cancer treatment. He sold the drug to a holistic cancer treatment center with clinics in Mexico called Hope4Cancer.

Bishop also sold the PNC-27 to patients in the U.S.