INDIANAPOLIS — A doctor who was the target of a federal investigation defended himself Wednesday from allegations that he improperly wrote drug prescriptions and had sex with his patients.

The Indiana Medical Licensing Board heard testimony during a hearing on whether Dr. Elmer Manalo should lose his medical license.

Manalo’s license was suspended last September after Drug Enforcement Agency agents and police officers searched his offices in Greensburg and Cumberland, a town in eastern Marion County.

The state attorney general’s office said then that Manalo, a cardiologist, was a danger to public health and safety. Investigators say Manalo wrote prescriptions for pain killers in exchange for money and sex from patients.

Manalo denied those accusations during the hearing Wednesday, saying he had taken appropriate precautions to keep strong pain medication out of the hands of patients who might abuse it.

“Each time they call me, the pharmacy calls me or the police department calls me, I always tell them one thing: Pursue the patient and arrest them,” he said.

Manalo admitted having sexual relationships with two patients, but said he had first told them to get another physician because he could not be their doctor and have such a relationship.

The board also heard testimony from an agent of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms concerning Manalo’s alleged involvement in a murder-for-hire plot against one of his patients.

However, there was no record of any federal criminal charges against Manalo on the U.S. District Court’s online docket.