Upland doctor accused of smuggling unapproved drugs to U.S.
Vinod Patwardhan is under arrest, charged with breaking interstate commerce laws. A federal complaint says he watered down doses to treat his cancer patients. His lawyer defends the doctor's care.
An Upland doctor who allegedly smuggled unapproved drugs into the United States from India and Honduras, and watered down doses to more cheaply treat his cancer patients, was arrested and charged today with breaking interstate commerce laws.
Authorities arrested Vinod Chandrashekm Patwardhan, 58, at his medical office on the 900 block of West Foothill Boulevard this morning.
The arrest followed an investigation that began in April after one of the doctor's medical assistants contacted a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer about alleged wrongdoing, authorities said.
According to the complaint unsealed today, Patwardhan treated about 35 cancer patients weekly and administered partial dosages of these illegal drugs to patients.
The complaint alleges that Patwardhan told federal agents that he had been traveling to India for "quite some time" to bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars of unapproved drugs, which he carried to his office in a gym bag, a Nordstrom's bag or other packages. He also had others buy unapproved drugs for him in Honduras, the complaint said.
Investigators said they found more than two dozen vials of unapproved drugs in a July 30 search of Patwardhan's office, according to the complaint.
In addition, the complaint said employees told agents that Patwardhan did not administer full dosages of drugs during chemotherapy treatments. Instead, the complaint alleges, he used single-dose vials to treat more than one patient.
Patwardhan, a resident of Claremont, was charged with one count of delivering misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud or mislead. If convicted, he could receive a maximum of three years in federal prison.
He is scheduled to appear this afternoon in federal court in Riverside to determine whether he is eligible to be released on bond.
Patwardhan's attorney, Benjamin Gluck, said the doctor had worked with cancer patients in Upland for 35 years.
"He's provided good care to lots and lots of patients, often paying for it out of his own pocket in the cases where HMOs refused to reimburse it," Gluck said. "We believe he didn't provide bad care to any patient. We disagree with what's in the complaint."
According to the Community Oncology Inc. website, Patwardhan is a board-certified doctor who specializes in oncology and hematology. He is on the medical staff at hospitals in Pomona, Chino, Montclair and Ontario. The site described him as a father of four, an avid runner and a spirited bridge player.
tami.abdollah@latimes.com
