Gilead extends legal action over HIV drug falsification

Gilead Sciences has filed a new lawsuit against people and organisations it accuses of selling counterfeit versions of its HIV medicines, including a defendant who it claims has continued to engage in the activity despite earlier injunctions.

The new lawsuit claims Peter Khaim has been added to the fresh action because he has continued to sell the fakes through a new series of pharmacies selling drugs in New York in New Jersey. It also claims he has refused to unlock a cell phone seized during a raid at his residence in Forest Hills, New York, in breach of a court order.

Another man named in the new complaint – pharmacy owner Boris Aminov – was previously convicted and sentenced for his role in the scheme along with several other individuals in connection with a prior lawsuit filed in 2021.

The suit claims falsified versions of Gilead Sciences’ medicines were manufactured and trafficked by the defendants…to pharmacies and patients in at least New York and New Jersey, putting untold numbers of patients' health and safety at risk." Pharmacies cited include 71st Rx and Best Scripts, both located in Queens.

They sourced previously legitimate, empty or full bottles of Gilead-branded HIV medications like Biktarvy (bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide) and Descovy (emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide) that had already been dispensed to patients, "typically by purchasing them off the street from vulnerable patients who could be persuaded to give up their life-saving medication for cash."

Empty bottles were filled with other medication, re-sealed with a fake version of Gilead's tamper-evident seal, and then altered to make them saleable as counterfeits.

In its complaint, Gilead describes Khaim as "a twice-convicted medical fraudster who is among the largest and most brazen manufacturers and sellers of counterfeit Gilead medications in the country."

"In a stunning display of hubris and contempt of this court, defendant Khaim and his newest co-conspirators have flouted this court's injunctions and continued to sell counterfeit Gilead-branded HIV medication through new pharmacies owned by strawmen, consistent with [the] modus operandi for his numerous other healthcare frauds."

Through his attorneys, Khaim has denied some of the allegations and claims that he "lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth" of the remainder.

Falsified medicines sometimes contain no active ingredients at all, actives in the incorrect dose, or other ingredients than those on the label, and they may contain contaminants and hazardous substances.

In the case of HIV therapies, taking falsified medicines can raise the risk that virus levels will not be kept under control and could develop resistance, leading to treatment failure.

One patient who unknowingly took the antipsychotic medication inside a counterfeit bottle of Biktarvy reported being unable to speak or walk afterwards, according to court documents