Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 24 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in Keralam assembly Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday questioned the procurement and distribution of medicines to children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) at the state-run SAT Hospital here, seeking a probe into alleged procedural lapses and safety concerns.
In a statement, Vijayan said the controversy over medicines labelled for clinical trials had arisen due to the government’s failure to act transparently and address the concerns of patients’ families.
He said he had written to Health Minister K Muraleedharan on October 12 seeking clarification but had received no reply even after two weeks.
Vijayan alleged that the minister initially distanced himself from the issue and later attempted to portray the controversy as an attack on generic medicines.
The Left leader said the opposition supported generic drugs to prevent the exploitation of patients by pharmaceutical companies and cited the CPI(M)’s role in strengthening India’s patent safeguards to ensure access to affordable medicines.
Referring to the government’s approval for procuring the medicine in July and reports of a short tender issued in September, Vijayan questioned whether the prescribed procedures had been followed.
He also sought an explanation on why medicines labelled for clinical trials were supplied through the government system if such trials were not required in India.
He demanded a comprehensive investigation into the procurement and distribution of the medicine, including the minister’s role, and called for measures to ensure the safety and continuity of treatment for the children.
The government should disclose all actions taken in the matter and answer the questions raised by patients’ families, he said.
His remarks came hours after Health Minister K Muraleedharan said there was no cause for concern over the medicines being administered to children with SMA and that he would clarify the issue in the Assembly on October 26.
The minister said the treating doctors had addressed the concerns and referred to statements by three doctors who, he said, had found no anomaly in the medicines.
The controversy arose after CPI(M) leaders, including former Health Ministers P K Sreemathi, K K Shailaja and Veena George, raised concerns over the distribution of low-cost, Indian-made medicines to children with SMA. CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan had also questioned the quality of the medicine. PTI LGK ROH
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.