Leukemia Patient Faces Charges for Importing Life-Saving Medicine

Lu Yong is facing criminal charges for selling medication imported from India in China. Lu was diagnosed with myeloid leukemia in 2002. While Lu searched for a bone marrow donor, he began taking Gleevec, a cancer-fighting drug manufactured by Novartis Pharmaceutical Company that costs 23,000 yuan and is not covered by state insurance. In 2004, Lu started purchasing the drug through an online medicine retailer in Japan, and then switched to bulk-ordering the drug from a company in India for his own use and that of other Chinese leukemia patients. Lu’s trial was scheduled to begin in November 2014, but has been postponed due to his health issues.