A Lafayette-based company agreed on Thursday to stop making and marketing untested products that were labeled and advertised as treatments for heart disease, multiple sclerosis, cancer and other maladies.
The Associated Press reports the agreement also stops Cili Minerals and its owner, Anton S. Botha, from marketing dietary supplements that the government says were adulterated. The federal complaint accused the company of failing to test ingredients or finished products as required by law. Details of the agreement were outlined in documents filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Lafayette.
The pact also calls for Cili Minerals to recall and destroy products it has manufactured and distributed since June 1, 2014. Cili Minerals also operated as Pick and Pay Inc. and Pick and Pay Hyper Inc. Its products were marketed under various names, including PoLith, Germanium and CilZinCo.
Prosecutors said Cili Minerals marketed and labeled products as treatments for cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, depression, epilepsy, arthritis and multiple sclerosis, among other ailments, which means the products were considered drugs under the law.
But the company didn’t seek U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the products or have them tested for safety and effectiveness.
To get back into the business, Cili Minerals would have to meet several conditions outlined in the agreement. Among them, hiring independent experts to inspect its facilities and make sure it doesn’t run afoul of federal law again.
