History
Pharmed’s foundation began as a vision of brothers Carlos and Jorge de Céspedes while working as executives for SmithKline Beecham in South Florida. In 1980, the de Céspedes brothers quit their jobs at SmithKline Beecham and established a 230-square-foot (21 m2) office and distribution center in Miami, Florida. From 1980 to 1982, Pharmed primarily sold medical and pharmaceutical supplies to Latin America and the Caribbean. Within two years, the Cuban-born duo had sold approximately $1.7 million in medical supplies.
By 1983, Pharmed had moved into a larger warehouse facility in the Miami area and was distributing medical and pharmaceutical supplies to small clinics in the area. The company had almost doubled its sales to $3.1 million. In 1986, with a $3 million bid to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Pharmed won its first benchmark contract, and reached $9 million in sales.
By 1993, Pharmed found its niche distributing medical products and supplies to nine major hospitals in South Florida and had become the dominant distributor of the Johnson & Johnson product line. Within the next few years, Pharmed hired several experienced senior executives and installed a technologically advanced computer system that enabled the company to handle larger contracts. Pharmed developed its Latin American customer base by establishing an affiliated operation in San Jose, Costa Rica named Pharmed Costa Rica. By the end of 1998, the company was carrying 55 private label products and sales had grown to $62 million.
The years to follow Pharmed established operations in Brazil, Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia and the Caribbean. In the early part of 2001 the Pharmed Group acquired PAL Laboratories, a manufacturer of vitamin supplements. Pharmed also joined forces that year with one of the largest manufacturers of gauze and cotton-based products for the medical surgical arena.
In 2007, the de Céspedes brothers and Pharmed were charged with multiple counts of health care fraud and tax evasion. The brothers testified that the fraud began in 1993 and lasted until discovered by law enforcement in 2007. In one example, the de Céspedes brothers admitted to cheating the Kendall Regional Medical Center out of $5 million through fraudulent practices. Pharmed declared bankruptcy in 2007, was liquidated and is no longer in operation. In its bankruptcy filing, the company claimed an acquisition and loss of major customers led to bankruptcy but it failed to mention the fraud prosecution of the company and its founders.
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