The Fifth Chamber of the Provincial Court of Valencia annulled the sentence handed down against the company Sesderma and the doctor Gabriel Serranowho acquitted charges related to the promotion of lactoferrin as a treatment for Covid-19. The judicial decision is based on the lack of sufficient evidence to be punished for the offense defined in article 282 of the Penal Code.
The case arose in 2020 after the opening of a sanction file by the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS), which delegated it by powers to the Ministry of Health, and for which the he Spanish company Sesderma has been charged with an administrative offense. the marketing of lactoferrinalleging that it was attributed preventive and curative properties against Covid-19, reserved only for medicines and that the cosmetic company was therefore violating the law on the rational use of medicines.
As a result, the company was sanctioned with fine of half a million euros. However, after the company appealed, the fine was reduced to 90,000 euros. The Valencian company took the case to the TSJCV, which ultimately canceled the sanction, knowing that the company had never marketed lactoferrin as a medicine, neither on its website, nor in advertising or in the media, but rather as a food supplement, which had all the advantages. licenses and/or authorizations for this purpose.
In addition to this administrative file, the Civil Guard collected a statement from Serrano in May 2020 and filed a complaint with the Valencia Courts for a possible crime related to the market and consumers. This offense was also revoked. The Provincial Court of Valencia acquitted Dr. Gabriel Serrano of charges of consumer deception, since not enough evidence found.
Both sentences highlight the freedom of scientific expressionTherefore, the right to share evidence-based information is reaffirmed. On the other hand, the nullity of the sanction is underlined, the company being able to sell lactoferrin as a food supplement. Furthermore, the TSJ judgment considers that the AEMPS’ statements have no basis as I don’t have enough proof and this is why Sesderma’s study and research on lactoferrin is recognized.
According to the company, lactoferrin is a bioactive protein present in breast milk, known for its immunological, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. It therefore plays a very important role as a natural defense system, by strengthening the defense mechanisms available to our body. In fact, lactoferrin is a major component of exosomes.
In a global context marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, lactoferrin is the subject of research for its possible beneficial effects on the immune system. Thus, Dr. Serrano has published half a dozen articles on the mechanism of action of this protein, in viral processes and as an activator of natural defenses.
They also point out that the studies initiated by Dr. Serrano were supported by a multitude of articles published by authors from different countries. Experts like José Antonio López, professor of microbiology at the Department of Molecular Biology at the Autonomous University of Madrid, have confirmed the antiviral properties of lactoferrin, which extend not only to Covid-19, but also to viruses such as Zika, Chikungunya, Herpes and others. Which was also supported by the famous scientific journal Viruses.
