Our Bureau
Houston, TX
Sanjay Kumar, a 43-year-old Indian national from Bihar, has been charged by a US court for allegedly selling and shipping significant quantities of counterfeit cancer drugs worth tens of thousands of dollars into the United States. According to court documents, Kumar and his co-conspirators arranged for the sale and shipment of fake versions of oncology pharmaceuticals, including the cancer immunotherapy drug Keytruda, to individuals within the country.
Genuine Keytruda is approved in the US for treating various types of cancer such as melanoma, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma, gastric cancer, cervical cancer, and breast cancer. Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC holds the exclusive rights to authorize the manufacture of Keytruda for distribution in interstate commerce.
The authorities said, “Keytruda is a cancer immunotherapy that is approved in the United States for 19 different indications, including the treatment of certain types of melanoma, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma, gastric cancer, cervical cancer, and breast cancer,”
Kumar was arrested on June 26 in Houston after traveling to the US to conduct further negotiations to expand his counterfeit Keytruda business in the American market. He is charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit drugs and four counts of trafficking in counterfeit drugs, each carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have teamed up to investigate the case. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman, along with Trial Attorneys Jeff Pearlman and Bryce Rosenbower from the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.
