Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 29: Remdesivir that expired in May 2023 was administered to patients, including those treated for Nipah infection, at hospitals in Kerala in subsequent years, Health Minister K. Muraleedharan told the Assembly on Thursday. The minister ordered an investigation into whether the use of the expired drug contributed to patient deaths.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

According to the details placed before the Assembly, the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited (KMSCL) had purchased 3,000 vials of Remdesivir for Rs 42 lakh on June 3, 2021, and the stock expired on May 30, 2023. Records cited in the Assembly indicated that 102 vials were used in 2023-24, 34 in 2024-25 and 10 in 2025-26 after their expiry — 146 vials in total — including for Nipah patients at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital.

Source: Nation Press

Replying to a submission in the Assembly, the minister said a medical board has been constituted under Dr Aravind, head of the Infectious Diseases Department, to examine the matter. The Health Department has also directed the Director of Medical Education and the Director of Health Services to collect details of all patients who received the medicine through the concerned supply channels.

The disclosure does not establish a causal link between the use of the expired medicine and any death, and the minister made that clear in the Assembly. The investigation will examine whether the expired medicine had any role in the deaths of Nipah patients and whether other recipients suffered adverse effects, officials said.

The minister also told the House that 50 vials used during the current financial year had been specially procured from Bahrain on June 12 for a Nipah patient, separate from the expired stock described above.

Kerala reported six Nipah cases in 2023, of whom two died. Both patients reported in 2024 died, while two of the three cases in 2025 were fatal, according to the details shared in the reporting. The findings of the medical board are expected to clarify how the expired stock remained in use and whether there were lapses in procurement, distribution or hospital-level expiry monitoring.