Farmavera Pharmaceutical Warehouse Pharmavera Pharmaceutical Warehouse Refused to provide a refund Istanbul No:10/A ESENLER

Subject: A negative experience with pharmaceutical supplier Farmavera, Istanbul, Turkey

The issue: Farmavera won’t issue a refund when their product Valamor (Ribociclib) was held up by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under a Notice of Action, for not being registered in the US.  The product, after a waiting period, was refused by FDA when no supporting information was provided by Farmavera.  FDA shipped back to Farmavera via DHL. 

Background:  My wife and I are both in our mid to late 70s.  My wife has metatastic stage  4 breast cancer.  I have been her caretaker since she was first diagnosed in March 2021.  She was successfully treated for the tumor cancer in 2023 in Tijuana Mexico.  For the non-consolidated cancer that remained in the lungs and cutaneous lymphangitis of the skin, our Mexico Oncologists recommended Ribociclib, a chemotherapy drug that is sold around the world under various trade names.  We found the drug to be very expensive in both Mexico and US.  ICCA, our treating company in Mexico did research on where else to acquire this drug.  Their first recommendation was Aspar Pharmaceutical, Mumbai India.  Aspar, a pharmaceutical supplier, purchased Ribociclib from Novartis, the manufacturer in India.

Experience with Aspar:  Aspar offered Ribociclib under the trade name Kisqali.  We did our due diligence and were provided relevant information to validate the product and their authorization to ship and sell it in the US.  We purchased a limited amount for the first order to validate that all was ok with taking the drug and with Aspar.  The funds were wired.  The product was shipped via DHL Express.  We received the product in 8 days.  The Aspar representative followed our product from beginning to end. It was exceptional service.

In the meantime ICCA, being helpful, also suggested that we might investigate Farmavera, a pharmaceutical supplier in Istanbul, Turkey that they had contacted, as the price was lower than Aspar.  Farmavera also purchases the Ribociclib (trade name Valamor) for distribution from Novartis, the manufacturer in Turkey.

Experience with Farmavera:

The initial contact with sharing and validation of information for the Valamor product, i.e., licenses, permits, etc., seemed legitimate.  We needed to have the product in hand as soon as possible to begin treatment.  An order was placed through the Farmavera Sales Agent (using whatsapp) and, as with Aspar, DHL Express was the shipping company.   Per online tracking, the product arrived in the DHL shipping hub in Cincinnati, OH.   We were expecting a notice of delivery within the next day or so.  A few days passed… Notice arrived via email from DHL that the shipment was being held by US Customs.  A couple of days later, another notice was received from DHL that Customs required payment of a $25 charge to release the product.  No reason was given by Customs, but needing the product to begin treatment, the charge was paid online.  A couple of days later, we received notice from DHL that the shipment was being held by FDA under a Notice of Action that could last up to 90 days.  Per the Notice, FDA required oral or written testimony to “bring the product into compliance by Nov 28th or the product would be “refused”.  At this point, with the product desperately being needed for treatment of cancer, we again ordered the same product from Aspar in India.  The product was in hand at our US residence in 8 days.  At this point, the discussion with the sales agent was to obtain a refund.

The Farmavera sales agent had no idea what to do. She asked, “can FDA do this?”  “We ship to over 50 countries and never have had this happen.”  The time was now past the Nov 28th (2023) date Notice of Action drop dead date. I then asked that Sales Agent if she had shipped this product to the US previously.  She responded that that she had not.

I emailed the FDA agent listed on the Notice of Action form to find out the status. The next day, the FDA Agent responded, explaining in the email that the product had been “refused” and a decision had to be made whether to destroy the product or to return it to Turkey.  The problem given by FDA in this reply was that the product was not registered with the FDA. When I communicated with the Farmavera Sales Agent, I was told the product was already back in Turkey but that they did not have an import license to take back a product they had shipped out of country…and if they could not get the product back to the manufacturer (Novartis), a refund could not be made. 

My response to the sales agent was, “you received payment from me. I did not receive the product from you. That is a fact. We want a refund.”  The agent said she would talk to ‘my officer’.  More importantly, the following statement was made by the Farmavera Agent, “my responsibility is sending medicines to the receiver’s country. I am selling to more than 50 countries in the world and it is not possible for me to know the customs procedures for each country that’s why I cannot give a guarantee that everybody will get the goods.  Receiver has to be sure for everything in their own country.  My responsibility is sending orders in good condition without damage after that the importer has to do the customs clear there.

My response to the sales agent was that this was “nonsense”.  If (Aspar) India could ship the product to us without an issue in 8 days door-to-door (twice), (with Novartis also being the manufacturer in India), then the product was properly registered in the US and verified so by Aspar.  So why was this not done by Farmavera? You never advised me of your policy that your responsibility ended when it shipped (from Turkey) and the receiver was responsible to ensure delivery.  If you had advised me of this policy, I would never have ordered it. This has all the earmarks of a scam.”

The Sale Agent asked if her manager had contacted me. I responded “no”.

A few days later, I received a WhatsApp call from the Owner of Farmavera. It was a cordial conversation.  We discussed what happened in detail. He explained again what the agent said about shipping products all over the world to over 50 countries and never a problem.  Again, I asked the owner if he had ever shipped this product to the US. “Yes, about 5 times was the response”.  When and where I asked. He fumbled in the reply. 

I asked for a refund. The owner then replied (his bottom line), “I cannot do that.  I already paid Novartis. If I refund to you, it will be twice the cost to me”.  My response was, “what position do you think I am in”? I paid you AND also paid the India supplier to deliver a product that you did not deliver.”  It was received in 8 days (twice) so obviously it can be done. You received value, I did not. We are an elderly couple and cannot absorb that cost. You are the owner and can make this decision and are better able financially absorb the cost in the name of customer satisfaction.”  The owner had made up his mind. No refund was going to happen. It was the end of the conversation.

These are the facts of our experience with Farmavera.  Few would take the time to report this level of detail. The time was taken to warn others. If someone is in a similar situation, being elderly and in desperate need of ordering Ribociclib for cancer treatment (or any other drug for that matter), I would now ask Farmavera, “does Farmavera guarantee delivery of the product (or any other drug product) shipped to the US and if the product is not delivered or held is up by the FDA or “refused” by the FDA into the US, will you refund the cost”?

Being forewarned is being forearmed. There are alternatives. Aspar India being one.