Anthony Galea, the high-profile Toronto sports doctor whose innovative treatments have landed him in legal trouble and garnered acclaim from hundreds of professional athletes, is under investigation by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.
College spokeswoman Prithi Yelaja on Thursday described the investigation into Dr. Galea as ?active? but declined to elaborate, offering no details on how long the probe has been open or what spurred investigators to take action.
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?For this particular case, I can tell you that there is an active investigation under way, but I can?t give you any more details than that,? Ms. Yelaja said. ?I can?t tell you exactly what we?re looking into.?
Dr. Galea pleaded guilty in federal court in the United States in 2011 to illegally transporting ?misbranded? drugs, including human growth hormone, across the border. A year later, Canadian prosecutors dropped charges against Dr. Galea that alleged he imported Actovegin, a derivative of calf?s blood used to accelerate healing of injuries that is not approved in Canada.
His lawyer, Brian Greenspan, expressed shock at the college describing his client as being under investigation.
In a telephone interview, Mr. Greenspan said the college has inquired about Dr. Galea?s brushes with the law and the nature of his practice periodically since his legal woes began in 2009, but that he would not cast those inquiries as an ?active investigation.?
Mr. Greenspan said Dr. Galea has satisfactorily answered all the college?s questions, and could not recall how long it had been since his client last corresponded with the college.
?It would be to my surprise, too, that he was being actively investigated,? Mr. Greenspan said, adding later, ?I think the person was ill-advised and ill-informed to have said something like that. But again, maybe they know something I don?t know.?
Dr. Galea had avoided the spotlight for the better part of a year until this week, when his name surfaced in connection with a Canadian trainer at the centre of an alleged track-and-field doping scandal. The trainer, Chris Xuereb, worked intermittently over several years at Dr. Galea?s west-end Toronto clinic, the Institute of Sports Medicine and Wellness Centre. Mr. Greenspan has said Mr. Xuereb was fired three years ago. Ms. Yelaja would not say whether the investigation stems from Dr. Galea?s past or was launched anew with the revelation of his link to Mr. Xuereb.
The college, which regulates doctors in the province, has never brought professional charges against Dr. Galea or imposed any restrictions on his licence.
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