Gallant Pharma Co-Founder Banned From Working With Drugmakers

The FDA has permanently barred an Arlington, Va., distributor from doing business in the U.S. after he was convicted of two felonies for selling counterfeit products.

According to a notice in the Federal Register, Talib Kahn illegally imported and sold unapproved and misbranded chemotherapy and injectable cosmetic drugs from August 2009 to August 2013, under the guise of Gallant Pharma International, a company he co-founded to conduct the illicit business. The prescription-only drugs lacked adequate directions for use and came with non-FDA-approved packaging and inserts. Some packaging and inserts were written solely in languages other than English.

Khan completed false customs declarations at least 18 times to import drugs to Virginia, where he subsequently was charged in a U.S. district court, the FDA says. During his time at Gallant, the company made at least $12.4 million from the sale of spurious drugs. Khan admitted to leading the criminal activity.

On March 11, 2014, Kahn was convicted of conspiracy charges and one count of introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce. He was fined $3.4 million and sentenced to three years in prison. 

The Federal Register notice is available at www.fdanews.com/07-08-15-Khan.pdf. — Kellen Owings