Feds close down importer that sold unapproved Botox and cancer drugs

The FDA and other federal authorities have brought down an Arlington, VA-based company that bought unapproved, foreign versions of Botox and cancer drugs on the black market, often receiving the drugs in a condition that left their quality and sterility in question. The agency has extracted guilty pleas from Gallant Pharma International, its owners Syed "Farhan" Huda and Talib Khan, and half a dozen employees of the company. Others, including Huda's wife, are awaiting trial. FDA Special Agent in Charge Antoinette Henry said, "Gallant Pharma purchased drugs on the international black market, with no idea whose hands those drugs passed through or what conditions the drugs were stored or shipped in." The feds have cracked down hard on companies circumventing the approved supply chain as more counterfeit and unapproved versions of expensive drugs have been found in the U.S. They are working to shut down suppliers, as well as prosecuting pharmacies and physician practices that knowingly buy the drugs to cut their costs. Story | More