BioPulse's Tijuana Cancer Clinic Shut Down by Mexican Officials
San Diego, Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) -- BioPulse International Inc.'s controversial Tijuana cancer clinic was shut down yesterday by Baja California state health officials, two weeks after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission told the company it is investigating claims BioPulse makes to attract patients.
The clinic provides more than 90 percent of the company's revenue, according to its regulatory filings. Revenue for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2000 was $3.1 million.
``Yesterday, we made the inspection and we found out that the clinic was advertising and offering cancer treatments that aren't authorized,'' said Alfredo Gruel, head of regulation at the state's Public Health Service Institute. ``They are applying procedures that are not authorized in Mexico.''
Without mentioning the closure, BioPulse issued a press release today saying it will sell the Tijuana facility's assets. Company executives weren't immediately available for comment.
The clinic's treatments, which the company has declared are unproven, include inducing daily comas in patients and injecting patients with vaccines made from their own urine.
Gruel said the clinic didn't have a license to conduct such procedures as inducing comas. The closure did not affect homeopathic treatments at the clinic. Those procedures are properly licensed, officials said.
BioPulse has also been banned from advertising its cancer treatment operations, said Gruel. He said he expects the company to file a complaint and seek an injunction against the state actions.
Mexico also bans companies from testing experimental procedures, even when they have disclosed to the patient the nature of the treatment and its experimental stage.
``In Mexico you can't do experimental treatments, unless you have a permit from the authorities,'' said Gruel.
BioPulse publicist John Liviakis promotes BioPulse on his Web site, lfcent.com./biopulse.html, as ``enjoying high success rates in treating cancer and other diseases.''
A recent SEC filing by the company appeared to contradict its own spokesman.
``To date, none of our technologies have proven effective, been submitted for or received FDA approval for marketing in the United States,'' the company said. Last month, Bloomberg News reported that some U.S. cancer experts were concerned that BioPulse's treatments, besides being ineffective, could harm patients.
The clinic charges patients $5,700 a week, although it accepts other forms of payment. In October, it treated a woman in exchange for her father providing a $225,000 loan to BioPulse, according to a recent regulatory filing.
Feb/16/2001 13:27 ET
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