Feds say former biotech exec lied about cancer

September 24, 2008

BOSTON --A former executive of Biopure Corp. has been charged with falsely telling a federal judge he had terminal cancer to dodge a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint.

Howard Richman, the Cambridge-based biotech company's former vice president of regulatory affairs, was indicted Wednesday on one count of obstruction of justice. The indictment alleges the 57-year-old Pearland, Texas, man provided the court with phony affidavits and letters from a doctor. The judge effectively ended the case against him last year.

Richman could face 10 years in prison on the new charge. His attorney did not immediately return a message for comment.

The SEC sued Biopure, Richman and other employees in 2005 claiming they made misleading public statements about the prospects of winning approval for a synthetic blood product. The company and former CEO Thomas Moore settled their portions of the complaint last year.