Bolar Pharmaceuticals

Bolar Pharmaceuticals was a prominent American generic drug manufacturer founded in 1974 and headquartered in Copiague, New York. The company gained significant notoriety in the late 1980s as a central figure in the "Generic Drug Scandal," which revealed widespread fraud, bribery, and data falsification within the industry. Bolar was specifically found to have substituted brand-name medications for its own generic versions during bioequivalence testing to deceive the FDA. Following criminal convictions of its executives and the withdrawal of many of its drug approvals, the company rebranded as Circa Pharmaceuticals in 1993. It was ultimately acquired by Watson Pharmaceuticals in 1995 for approximately $600 million in stock. The scandal involving Bolar led directly to the passage of the Generic Drug Enforcement Act of 1992, which granted the FDA broader powers to debar individuals and companies from the drug approval process.