Ephedra seizure
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
U.S. Marshals seized 200 cases of finished ephedra product, 200 boxes of bulk tablets and nine 25 kilo drums of ephedrine alkaloid raw material thus far in enforcement action against Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals, FDA announces Feb. 24. The products are labeled as containing 25 mg of ephedrine alkaloids per tablet and are marketed under the names Stimerex-ES, Lipodrene and Betadrene, the agency states. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia also has filed a complaint for forfeiture against the firm; the product is being seized from Hi-Tech's Norcross, Ga. facility. The enforcement action will prevent approximately $3 mil. worth of ephedra products marketed by the company from reaching consumers, FDA adds. High-Tech also faced seizure of its ephedra products by FDA in January (1"The Tan Sheet" Jan. 16, 2005, p. 10). The firm filed a September lawsuit seeking to prevent the agency from enforcing its 2004 ephedra ban, and FDA recently moved to dismiss the case...