In 2023, cancer drugs were imported into Armenia from India, which, according to an investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, were ineffective or caused side effects.

Hetq wrote about a similar case in 2023: substandard children's cancer drugs were imported into Armenia. 

Two years later, substandard cancer drugs continue to reach Armenia. Yerevan’s Violeta Medical Center appears to be the culprit.

In June 2025, the British Bureau of Investigative Journalism published an investigation into drugs used to treat cancer. Chemotherapy drugs from various manufacturers were examined. 20% of 189 test samples did not meet quality standards, which includes twenty brands from seventeen manufacturers. The investigation found that the use of the drugs either did not provide any benefit or caused side effects with grave consequences. Various batches of these substandard drugs have appeared in more than one hundred countries around the world, including Armenia.

According to data provided by our partners, in 2023, the drugs Doxobyra (doxorubicin hydrochloride) and CTX-GLS (cyclophosphamide) were imported from India to Armenia, 400 units each. Hetq found out that the importer is Violeta Pharm LLC, which received an import certificate from the Ministry of Health.

The supplier is the Indian company Medyra Pharmaceutical. One of the drugs, Doxobyra, is manufactured by this company, and CTX-GLS is manufactured by GLS Pharma. These are inexpensive drugs; the cost of one vial of Doxobyra, for example, is 250 Indian rupees (about 1,000 drams) online. For comparison, the registered European doxorubicin hydrochloride is sold in Armenia for ten times more.

Medyra Pharmaceutical, according to information available in open sources, has also collaborated with Violetta Medical Center, and Armenia is one of its main markets.

Violetta Pharm LLC is affiliated with Violetta Medical Center, which was at the center of a similar story two years ago. 

In 2023, Hetq wrote that in 2021 Violetta Medical Center imported the Indian drug Onconas to Armenia. The company informed us and the Ministry of Health that the entire imported batch “was destroyed and put into storage for destruction.” In a conversation with us, a company representative noted that there was no demand for the drug and that they understood that importing the drug was pointless. Additional information was not available. 

• Armenia Imported Cancer Drugs Found to be Ineffective and Potentially Harmful

Two years later, Armenia is again marked in red on a map of the distribution of substandard medicines, and the study shows that the importer is Violeta Pharm LLC, which is associated with Violeta Medical Center.

Hetq tried to contact the company to find out where and how the imported batch was sold, but our calls went unanswered for several weeks. Written inquiries also received no response. A month later, in August, our letters were answered by Marine Husnunts, an accountant at Violeta Pharm, whom we were advised to contact by Violeta Medical Center. The accountant reported that the company was currently not operating but promised to find out information from former employees and pass it on as soon as possible. After that, we were unable to contact Marine Husnunts either.   

Violetta Pharm LLC declared bankrupt.

Violetta Medical Center LLC was founded in December 2019. At the time of publication of the material, the company’s website is not operational. The sole owner and chief physician is infectious disease specialist, hepatologist Violeta Sargsyan. Her name has been associated with several incidents in recent years.

100% state shares of Scientific Research Institute of Balneology and Physical Medicine CJSC were privatized through a tender by the Armenian government’s decision of December 8, 2022. The owners of the institute since 2023 are Violeta Sargsyan (90%) and Anna Gyozalyan (10%), the director is Violeta Sargsyan’s son, Levon Sargsyan. After the privatization, the institute's employees have repeatedly raised their voices in protest, stating that they have not received salaries for months, and their building at 41 Orbeli Street is being demolished.

The State Property Management Committee filed a lawsuit to fine the new owners of the CJSC AMD 30 million since the promised investments were not fully implemented in the first year. The court rejected the lawsuit, and the committee appealed to the Court of Appeals.

The founder of Violeta Pharm LLC is Violeta Sargsyan's son, Levon Sargsyan. As of October 2025, the 100% owner of the company is Violeta Sargsyan's daughter, Sona Sargsyan, who has been the head of the clinical service of Violeta Medical Center since 2019, working as an infectious disease specialist-hepatologist.

Both companies participated in state procurements in different years, then were included in the list of participants not entitled to participate in the procurement process.

Cancer drugs are imported into Armenia through legal and illegal channels. It is no secret that both real and fake drugs enter Armenia via the second route. 

This story of the import of low-quality cancer drugs from India shows that ineffective drugs can appear on the market even with the permission of the Ministry of Health and that regulation mechanisms are weak.