Stem fake: the investigation continues
Operatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation are investigating a criminal case of fraud with the production and sale of the drug "Stemamine" in Russia, allegedly containing stem cells, the press service of the Department of Economic Security (DEB) of the Ministry reported on Tuesday.
"The competent authorities continue to receive complaints from citizens who have used this remedy for the lack of effect from its use... A preliminary study of the drug showed that its composition does not correspond to the formulation stated in the regulatory documentation. According to the expert opinion, this remedy does not contain living cells, since stem cells cannot live in any cosmetic forms," the report says.
According to the provisions of the regulations of the Federal Service of the Russian Federation for Supervision in the Field of Healthcare, cellular technologies are classified as the third class of danger (medical technologies with a high degree of risk), which provides for the registration of the drug as a medicinal product.
"Stemamin" on the pharmaceutical market was positioned by intruders as a cosmetic product – a complex consisting of stem cells and having a significant cosmetic effect, the press release notes.
"The difference between the selling price of the manufacturer for the drug and the price at which these products were delivered to pharmacies from the distributor company was about 800-900%. If we take into account that in the period from 2005 to 2007, the manufacturer produced a volume of "Stemamine" in the amount of about 30 million rubles in factory prices, then for the same period, the revenue of the distributor company, according to preliminary estimates, could amount to 250-270 million rubles," the department informs.
The criminal case was initiated under part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud committed by an organized group or on a particularly large scale), providing for up to 10 years of imprisonment.
During the operational search activities, it was established that one company headed by the attackers produced "Stemamine", and the other, being an exclusive distributor, was engaged in its implementation.
"It was also established that the manufacturer carried out the production of "Stemamine" using only two pieces of equipment - a pump and a reactor. It is known that such devices are used in the manufacture of any cosmetics," the press release says.
At the same time, real production related to cellular technologies requires a set of special expensive equipment, the DEB noted.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru24.06.2008