Kentucky doctor admits providing non-approved drug to weight-loss patients
A Kentucky doctor faces up to three years in prison after admitting he sold patients a non-approved weight-loss drug.
Matthew Tyler Lewis, 44, pleaded guilty Monday to a federal charge of receiving a misbranded drug and offering it for sale with the intent to defraud or mislead, according to the court record.
Lewis is the owner of Lewis Family Care in Ashland.
According to his plea, he bought semaglutide from businesses in California and Georgia that were not approved to distribute the drug for use in humans, and the product they provided had not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Semaglutide is the ingredient in the brand-name drugs Ozempic and Rybelsus, which are used in diabetes treatment but have also helped patients lose weight, and Wegovy, which has become popular as a drug to treat obesity.
Labels on the vials of semaglutide Lewis received said it was intended for research and not for use in humans, according to his plea.
The labels did not include adequate directions for administering the drug, didn’t contain a proper expiration date and failed to list the active and inactive ingredients.
The plea agreement said Lewis took steps to hide the sources of the drug, labeling his payments to one supplier as “meal prep,” for instance.
Lewis kept paper files on his weight-loss patients, while keeping electronic files his other patients, according to the plea.
The clinic earned $294,044 from semaglutide injections between May 21, 2023 and Feb. 29, 2024, according to court documents.
Lewis agreed to pay that amount to the government as part of his plea.
“Prescription drugs are highly regulated in this country in order to keep patients safe, acting U.S. Attorney Paul McCaffrey said in a news release. “At a time of increased public interest in weight-loss drugs like Wegovy, Lewis chose profit margins over patient safety when he purchased non-FDA approved semaglutide and administered it to his patients.”
Chief U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning scheduled Lewis to be sentenced in August.
