From Russia, with bioequivalency? Russian prosecutors have submitted to a court the results of their probe against a Russian pharmaceutical company, Bryntsalov-A, which makes legitimate generics, but was accused of selling counterfeit products, according to Novosti, the Russian news agency, citing the Interior Ministry.

“An investigation into charges of illegal commercial activities and the unlicensed use of registered brand names against the company’s general director, Tatyana Bryntsalova, and other top managers has been completed,” the ministry said.

The head of the firm, which produces cheaper alternatives for popular foreign brands in Russia, along with three managers, are accused of “setting up a criminal ring” to produce extra batches of medicines similar to foreign brands in chemical composition.

Investigators said the firm produced and partly sold unlicensed medicines worth over $3.3 million between April 2004 and May 2005, adding that some 200 metric tons of counterfeit items produced by the company had been confiscated. The counterfeit goods were sold via front companies, the ministry said. The case was opened in April 2006.

Tatyana Bryntsalova is a sister of pharmaceuticals and vodka oligarch Vladimir Bryntsalov, a former presidential candidate. Russian media reported last spring that Bryntsalov planned to transfer a controlling stake in the company to an emerging state pharmaceutical holding.