The Biopatid Case: Trifonova, the owner of a Kyiv clinic, has been taken into custody; bail set at 68 million hryvnia
The court imposed pretrial measures on the suspects in the case involving the counterfeiting and distribution of the weight-loss drug “Biopatid.”
The Office of the Prosecutor General reported that, at the request of prosecutors from the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the court imposed a pretrial restraint on the suspect—the organizer of the scheme to illegally manufacture and distribute the counterfeit weight-loss drug “Biopatid,” who is also the owner of the “Biopell Medical” trademark—a pretrial detention order for a period of 60 days with the option to post bail in the amount of 75 million hryvnias.
According to media reports, law enforcement officials suspect businessman Anatoliy Cherkassky
of organizing the scheme.
Meanwhile, the suspect, who is the owner of a clinic, has been ordered to be held in custody for 60 days, with the right to post bail in the amount of 68 million hryvnias. Earlier, media reports indicated that the suspect is Maria Tryfonova, the owner of the Kyiv-based Tryfonova MD Clinic, who is accused of promoting a counterfeit medication.
Six
other participants have been ordered to remain in custody, with the right to post bail ranging from 3.5 million UAH to 10 million UAH.
With regard to the other participants in the scheme, motions for the imposition of preventive measures are currently under consideration by the court.
Separately, the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office clarified the circumstances surrounding the origin of the counterfeit drug and its health risks.
“No medication containing the active ingredient tirzepatide is registered in Ukraine, including one with the name ‘Biopatid.’ All products bearing this name are counterfeit and hazardous to health,” explained Andriy Dyachenko, head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
It is noted that the name “Biopatid” was invented by the organizer of the scheme, who, as the owner of the “Biopell Medical” trademark, illegally used it to distribute the counterfeit drug.
No company or individual in Ukraine has legal grounds to manufacture or distribute the drug “Biopatid.”
This is stated in a press release from the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Investigators have established that the perpetrators used “BIOPELL SYSTEM” LLC and numerous sole proprietorships in their activities.
A pre-trial investigation is
currently underway—law enforcement officials are gathering data on the participants in the scheme, the supply chains for raw materials, the production volumes of these drugs, as well as information about the victims.
On September 13, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office uncovered a large-scale scheme involving the illegal manufacture and sale throughout Ukraine of the counterfeit weight-loss drug Biopatid. According to the investigation, the organized group consisted of more than 70 people, 27 of whom have already been notified of their status as suspects.
Maria Trifonova, who is linked to the promotion of the controversial counterfeit drug Biopatid, is currently being held in the Dnipropetrovsk pretrial detention center. She is a subject of the investigation into the illegal manufacture and distribution of the counterfeit drug in Ukraine.
