Hoover Man Pleads Guilty To Federal Conspiracy And Fraud Charges

BIRMINGHAM, AL — A Hoover man Thursday pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges involving his manufacturing of drugs that he erroneously claimed were effective cancer treatments.

Patrick Charles Bishop, 54, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Karon O. Bowdre to one count of conspiracy for fraudulently introducing adulterated drugs and mis-branded drugs into interstate commerce. A sentencing date has been set for May 5.

According to the plea agreement, Bishop owned and operated Patrick, LLC, an entity organized in Nevada. Between 2015 and 2016, Bishop purchased, manufactured, labeled, marketed, sold and distributed drug products purportedly containing a peptide called PNC-27, which has not been approved by the FDA for use in the United States as a drug to treat any disease, including cancer, nor has PNC-27 undergone clinical trials in the United States.

Bishop took steps to conceal these activities from the FDA and others, according to court documents.

Bishop used the business name Best Peptide Supply, LLC, to buy PNC-27 from GL Biochem, a manufacturer based in China, and used the business name Immuno Cellular Restoration Program, Inc., to sell PNC-27 products to others, the plea says. He described his distribution of PNC-27 products as part of a research effort, and reportedly made false representations to FDA personnel and others.

Court records show that Bishop paid GL Biochem more than $600,000 for the product. Bishop repeatedly assured the manufacturer that he would use the peptide solely for laboratory research purposes, but instead used the peptide to make homemade suppositories in his kitchen in Hoover, and at a warehouse he rented in Pelham. The facilities were not sterile, and did not comply with current good manufacturing practices.

Customers who purchased suppositories from Bishop reported finding pieces of hair in their suppository packs.

Bishop marketed the PNC-27 drug products to alternative-medicine doctors, cancer patients and others as an effective treatment for cancer, and sold the drug products to Hope4Cancer, a holistic cancer treatment center with clinics in Mexico.

The maximum punishment for conspiracy is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.