Pharmacy accused of selling fake Ozempic to other pharmacies, lawsuit says

A Michigan pharmacy company is suing an Iowa business accused of selling it counterfeit medication, according to a lawsuit.

Central Pharmacy Management, LLC, which owns several Michigan pharmacies, entered into an agreement with SmartScripts, LLC on Dec. 6, according to a civil complaint.

Central Pharmacy Management paid SmartScripts $132,249.46 for 168 units of Ozempic, the lawsuit said.

Ozempic is used to treat Type 2 diabetes , according to the Cleveland Clinic. It also can be used to help with weight loss.

According to the lawsuit, SmartScripts told Central Pharmacy Management that “the drugs it was purchasing were legitimate.”

However, on Dec. 27, the Food and Drug Administration informed Central Pharmacy Management that the drugs it purchased were not Ozempic and were counterfeits, the lawsuit said.

Central Pharmacy Management was ordered to immediately stop selling the syringes and turn over a list of patients who had received them, according to the complaint.

Central Pharmacy Management reached out to SmartScripts to let them know the drugs were confiscated due to being illegitimate, but the company did not respond, according to the court document.

Then, on March 18, a SmartScripts employee sent an email to Central Pharmacy Management saying they were “working to resolve this,” attorneys said.

The lawsuit said SmartScripts was aware the drugs it sold to Central Pharmacy Management were counterfeit. However, SmartScripts CEO Todd Thompson told McClatchy News in an email that was not the case.

“SmartScripts purchased the product in good faith and believed it to be real and valid,” Thompson said. “There were many pharmacies and buyers nationally who were misled like us.”

“If SmartScripts and Todd Thompson were not aware that the drugs it sold to CPM were counterfeit, SmartScripts and Todd Thompson acted negligently in selling counterfeit drugs without ensuring that they were legitimate,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said SmartScripts breached its contract by refusing to refund the $132,249.46 that Central Pharmacy Management paid for the counterfeit drugs.

“No patients received the product from our pharmacy, no adverse events were reported to us. It is an ongoing investigation and we are fully cooperating with authorities to determine where the product originated,” Thompson told McClatchy News.

The lawsuit is asking for a jury trial and an undetermined amount in damages.

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