BioPulse to sell its cancer lab in Tijuana
signonsandiego.com.
By Penni Crabtree and Sandra Dibble
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS
February 17, 2001
BioPulse International yesterday announced that it will sell its controversial Tijuana cancer clinic -- a move that comes one day after Mexican authorities ordered the company to stop treating patients with experimental therapies.
In a brief news release, which did not mention the ban on its treatments or the closure of part of its clinic by health authorities, the San Diego company said it has entered into a "letter of intent" to sell its clinic assets.
BioPulse also announced it will change its name to California BioScience.
Although BioPulse did not publicly acknowledge its
problems with the Baja California Health Department, word of the setback spread quickly yesterday through media accounts and Internet message boards.
The company's stock, which trades over the counter, plummeted 44 percent to close at $2.94.
BioPulse's planned exodus from the clinic -- the company cautioned that there is no guarantee it can conclude the sale -- raises questions about BioPulse's financial viability.
The clinic, which offered such unorthodox treatments as insulin-induced comas and unproven cancer "vaccines," accounts for about 90 percent of BioPulse's revenues and profit, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company reported $3.1 million in revenues in fiscal year 2000.
BioPulse said it will focus on developing a diagnostic blood test and a cancer vaccine. The company raised $3 million from a private investor earlier this month.
Baja California health authorities say they believe there are 20 to 30 clinics in Tijuana that practice alternative medicine and treat patients from north of the border almost exclusively. They say they plan to inspect all the clinics they learn about and verify whether they are operating legally.
Yesterday afternoon, they moved against a second Tijuana clinic, Century Nutrition, which for the past three years has been operating from the bottom floor of a pink stucco house near the San Ysidro border crossing.
While BioPulse had permission to operate as a short-term clinic and offer traditional medical care, it appears that Century Nutrition has been operating without any license, inspectors said.
The occupants of the unmarked clinic initially refused to allow the inspectors into the facility. Tim Bolen, a spokesman for the clinic, said clinic staff were too frightened to open the door because they did not realize who the authorities were.
The staff opened the door after a dozen soldiers joined a team of federal, state and municipal police outside the clinic.
"We closed them down because they are not registered," said Dr. Alfonso Gruel Culebro, who oversees hospitals and clinics for the Baja California Health Department. "The kinds of treatments that our personnel saw are not treatments that at first sight appear to be authorized.
"We are going to keep studying the case and analyze their documents and come up with a final decision in a few days," he said.
Bolen said it is operated by Dr. Hulda Clark, and that she acts as the facility's primary researcher.
"Dr. Clark and the clinic have made every effort to comply with Mexican laws," Bolen said. Bolen said he is uncertain whether the clinic has the necessary permits.
Gruel said Clark is allowed to come into Mexico as a nutritional adviser, according to her immigration papers.
Clark, who is well known in alternative medicine circles, maintains that toxins and parasites weaken the body's resistance to disease and must be eliminated. She developed the "Zapper," a low-voltage device that supposedly kills parasites, bacteria and viruses with electrical energy.
Clark emerged from the clinic as inspectors moved to seal its exits. She was smiling, but evasive and brief in her answers.
Asked whether she was registered with Mexican health authorities, she said, "Of course ... I'm perfectly legal."
Asked what is done inside the clinic, she answered: "Ask me something more important ... like how effective this is." Then, answering her own question, she said, "95 percent."
Elizabeth Sorrell identified herself as the clinic's manager and praised the clinic's therapy.
"It's far better than anything mainstream," said Sorrell, a 70-year-old San Diego resident.
Sorrell said that her health and her husband's health had improved dramatically under Clark's care.
In September 1999, Clark was arrested in San Diego on a fugitive warrant from Indiana, where she faced charges of practicing medicine without a license. Last spring, a judge dismissed the case on grounds that too much time had elapsed between the filing of the charges and Clark's arrest. |
