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Cancer Drug Mix-Up Sparks Rights Commission Action
24 Jan
Summary
- Chemotherapy drug meant for lung cancer found in brain cancer packaging.
- Kerala Human Rights Commission demands expedited legal proceedings.
- Supplier firm has been blacklisted following the incident.
Legal proceedings are being expedited against a pharmaceutical firm involved in a significant drug label mismatch incident at the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) in Thiruvananthapuram. The Kerala State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) issued a directive for the swift completion of these actions.
This directive follows a suo motu case registered by the commission based on media reports about the incident. The error involved a chemotherapy drug, Temozolomide 100 mg, where two out of ten packs were mislabeled as Etoposide 50 mg, a different medication. The discovery was made by RCC pharmacy staff on July 9 last year.
In response to the discovery, the State Drugs Controller confiscated five packs of the affected drugs. Legal action has been initiated against the company responsible for supplying the drugs, and the firm has consequently been blacklisted, as confirmed by the drugs controller's appearance before the commission. The RCC director has been ordered to ensure the legal process moves forward without delay.
