Springs pharmacist on trial for selling growth hormone

Colorado Springs pharmacy owner Thomas Bader knew he was breaking the law by importing and distributing human growth hormones from China, prosecutors charged Tuesday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaime Peña told a federal jury that Bader and a sales representative had an attitude as they pursued their illicit business.

“They told us we couldn’t do it so we did it anyway,” Peña said, describing that attitude in opening statements of a trial in which Bader, 67, is accused of conspiracy, smuggling and illegal distribution of the hormones. Prosecutors contend the hormones lacked U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.

But Bader’s lawyer told the jurors that the case is far more complex and the law on the issue is far from clear.

Charles Torres said the real culprits in the case were a group of “rogue doctors” who were improperly writing prescriptions for the hormone for uses that were not approved.

He said the charges were also the result of Bader standing up for his rights as a compound pharmacist in successfully challenging FDA tactics.

“The evidence is going to show that what the FDA couldn’t accomplish in two civil cases they are now trying to accomplish in a criminal case,” Torres said.

In August 2007, a federal grand jury indicted Bader and two other men on charges that they smuggled the unapproved growth hormones into the country and then sold it to doctors in several states.

It was a lucrative business, Peña said. Between April 2004 through June 2007, Bader’s College Pharmacy made about $4.7 million on sales of the hormone, he said.

“It was their hottest seller and had the biggest profit margin,” said Peña, who described Bader as being a “hands-on” owner in the business.

Torres countered that Bader was looking to sell the business to his employees and had hired a manager to handle the day-to-day business.

He described the government’s case as “not well thought out.”

If Bader is convicted, prosecutors plan to force Bader to forfeit his profits from the sales as well as property in Colorado Springs, Florida, Iowa and North Carolina.

The trial is expected to take about four weeks.

According to a report by CBS, human growth hormone has been offered by some doctors as part of an anti-aging regimen. Others have touted it, the New York Times reported, as restoring sagging physiques, flagging endurance and wilting libidos as well as a cure for depression.

Human growth hormone is produced by the pituitary gland and contributes to normal growth in children. HGH injections have been shown to increase muscle mass and reduce fat. A pharmaceutical version is approved for treating children who fail to grow, for AIDS patients who are wasting away, and for adults with a growth hormone deficiency caused, for example, by surgery or radiation.

Distributing it for other uses — including turning the clock back on aging, or bulking up to hit more home runs, as sluggers such as Barry Bonds have been accused of doing — is illegal, CBS reported.

For more court coverage, go to the Sidebar blog at Gazette.com