Thiruvananthapuram: Three former Kerala Health Ministers — P.K. Sreemathy, K.K. Shailaja and Veena George, all senior CPI(M) leaders who held the health portfolio under successive Left Democratic Front governments — addressed a joint press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday, October 22, demanding an inquiry into how a drug alleged to be meant for 'clinical trials' came to be given to children afflicted with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) through the state-run SAT Hospital, The Hindu reported.

Source: The Hindu

The controversy began after Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan alleged in a statement on Tuesday, October 20, that parents of SMA patients had pointed out that medicines distributed through SAT Hospital were marked 'Doctor's Sample' and 'For Clinical Trials Only', which he alleged was a violation of drug rules and public procurement standards, and demanded an inquiry and strict action. These remain allegations; no inquiry finding has been announced.

Source: The Hindu

Rs 63 lakhreported price of one 60 ml bottle of the imported original SMA drug (yaani 63 lakh rupees)
97%lower price of the generic version, according to SAT Hospital
Rs 25 lakhNatco CSR first instalment for a hospital ward renovation, which the hospital says is unrelated to the drug (yaani 25 lakh rupees)

At Thursday's press conference, the three former ministers demanded that proof of the quality of the generic SMA drug manufactured by Natco, and the findings of its technical evaluation report, be made public. They also demanded that Health Minister K. Muraleedharan explain why he met representatives of Natco in his office, alleging that a minister should have no direct dealings with a pharmaceutical firm. Ms Shailaja further alleged that the medicine quality-checking mechanism had weakened and sought disclosure of whether bioequivalence tests had been conducted, Nation Press reported. The former ministers also accused the United Democratic Front government of corporatising the public health sector — a political charge the government rejects.

Source: Nation Press

What is solid

  • SAT Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram is a state-run centre of excellence for rare diseases and has run an SMA clinic since 2022.
  • The hospital says the drug now distributed is a generic version of the original anti-SMA molecule risdiplam, manufactured by Natco, and that only drugs ratified by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) are distributed.
  • Health Minister K. Muraleedharan has said the low-cost medicine was given on the recommendation of an expert committee, and that the procurement process began under the previous Left government.

What is only claimed

  • The opposition alleges that packs marked 'Doctor's Sample' and 'For Clinical Trials Only' were given to SMA-affected children — the hospital denies that any clinical-trial drug was administered.
  • Former minister Veena George alleged that sample packets did not carry the name of the Kerala Medical Services Corporation and that parents were threatened when they tried to return them — no official finding has been made on this claim.
  • The opposition has sought to link a Natco CSR contribution for a hospital ward renovation to the drug distribution — the hospital calls that linkage malicious and says the two are unrelated.

Rejecting the allegations, SAT Hospital Superintendent Dr I. Riaz said the decision to give SMA patients the cheaper generic version instead of the imported original was taken by a technical committee of experts, that procurement procedures started under the previous government were completed by the current government, and that the drug meets all regulatory requirements and quality standards. He said the generic drug has been available over the counter for almost a year and is already being used by several SMA patients, and appealed to people not to spread what he called baseless rumours that put patients and their families in anxiety.

Source: The Hindu

Dr Riaz also condemned attempts to link Natco Pharma's corporate social responsibility assistance for renovating an isolation ward at the hospital with the generic drug's distribution, calling the linkage malicious. He said the hospital's health education society regularly receives CSR funds from public and private agencies, that the then superintendent had written to Natco on March 25, 2026 seeking help for the ward renovation, and that Natco transferred Rs 25 lakh (yaani 25 lakh rupees) as a first instalment.

Source: The Hindu

Health Minister K. Muraleedharan, responding in Kozhikode on Thursday, said he did not need a 'good certificate' from the former ministers and that the government was providing a better generic version of the drug at a much lesser cost than the previously given one, The Hindu reported. A day earlier, he had told reporters that the expert committee had found the Indian-made medicines to be of good quality, that no written complaint about the labelling issue had been received, and that a written complaint from the Leader of the Opposition would be investigated, PTI reported.

Source: PTI

Spinal muscular atrophy is a rare, inherited genetic condition that causes progressive muscle weakness. The Kerala government has not announced an inquiry into the allegations so far. Awaaz Punjab will update this story as the government and the hospital issue further statements.