Sanjay Kumar, a 43-year-old resident of Bihar, has been charged by a US court on Thursday for allegedly selling and shipping significant quantities of counterfeit oncology drugs into the United States.
Court documents reveal that Kumar and his accomplices purportedly facilitated the sale and shipment of fake versions of cancer medications, including the drug Keytruda, to individuals within the country.
Genuine Keytruda is a cancer immunotherapy that is approved in the United States for 19 different indications, including to treat certain types of melanoma, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma, gastric cancer, cervical cancer, and breast cancer.
The exclusive rights to authorize the manufacture of Keytruda for distribution in interstate commerce belong to Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, previously known as Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.
Kumar’s arrest took place on June 26 in Houston, where he had traveled to engage in further discussions aimed at expanding his counterfeit Keytruda business within the US market, according to a media release. He faces charges of 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.
Court documents reveal that Kumar and his accomplices purportedly facilitated the sale and shipment of fake versions of cancer medications, including the drug Keytruda, to individuals within the country.
Genuine Keytruda is a cancer immunotherapy that is approved in the United States for 19 different indications, including to treat certain types of melanoma, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma, gastric cancer, cervical cancer, and breast cancer.
The exclusive rights to authorize the manufacture of Keytruda for distribution in interstate commerce belong to Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, previously known as Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.
Kumar’s arrest took place on June 26 in Houston, where he had traveled to engage in further discussions aimed at expanding his counterfeit Keytruda business within the US market, according to a media release. He faces charges of 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.
