Foreign national admits to selling counterfeit cancer medication

Editor's Note:
This matter occurred on date indicated, but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.   

HOUSTON – A 45-year-old Indian national has pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell and ship counterfeit oncology pharmaceuticals into the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.   

From August 2018 to June 2024, Sanjay Kumar and others arranged the sale and trafficking of counterfeit versions of the cancer drug Keytruda worth tens of thousands of dollars. 

Keytruda is an FDA-approved immunotherapy used to treat melanoma and Hodgkin lymphoma as well as lung, head and neck, gastric, cervical and breast cancers. Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, formerly Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., holds the exclusive right to authorize the manufacturing of genuine Keytruda. 

The counterfeit Keytruda Kumar sold bore fake trademarks and lacked the active ingredient needed to treat cancer. Instead, it contained fillers and adulterants with no medical purpose. The packaging was also counterfeit, bearing marks nearly identical to those registered to Merck.

During an undercover operation, Kumar attempted to sell additional quantities of counterfeit Keytruda. He admitted he knew the drugs would not work to treat cancer, describing them as “just like water.”

U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal will impose sentencing Jan. 13. At that time, Kumar faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Food and Drug Administration. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman and Trial Attorneys Ethan Cantor, Bryce Rosenbower and Jeff Pearlman of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section are prosecuting the case.