E-Paper
Stock of Remdesivir injections worth ₹30 cr expire in Pune district
According to the officials, as many as 2.70 lakh vials of Remdesivir injections were procured by the health department for Pune district since the outbreak of Covid-19. Out of this stock, as many as 1.56 lakh vials were utilised while the remaining 1.13 lakh vials got wasted in three years’ time
With stocks of Remdesivir injections worth more than ₹30 crores having expired in Pune district, members of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have alleged that the public health department failed to prevent the wastage of this life-saving drug despite the issue having been brought to the notice of the director of health services, Dr Nitin Ambadekar. So much so that MNS leader, Hemant Sambhus, during a press conference on Wednesday, claimed that vested monetary interests led to the excess stock of Remdesivir being purchased and procured by the department.
On July 28, 2023, the MNS had written a letter to chief minister Eknath Shinde, demanding action against Dr Ambadekar for failure to prevent the wastage of Remdesivir. “A stock of 2.50 lakh vials of Remdesivir injections worth ₹40 crores was going to expire on April 30, 2023. To prevent this wastage, a letter was written to Dr Ambadekar on April 10, 2023, requesting him to take preventive measures. However, no efforts were taken by the public health department, leading to the waste of the life-saving serum,” the MNS letter addressed to Shinde said.
Sambhus said that if Dr Ambadekar had taken measures to divert or return the excess stock to the manufacturing company, it would have saved the public exchequer crores of rupees. “The pharmaceutical company would have given a credit note to the health department or other medicines in exchange for Remdesivir. However, no efforts were taken by the health department, which led to the wastage of vaccines worth ₹30 crores,” Sambhus said.
According to the officials, as many as 2.70 lakh vials of Remdesivir injections were procured by the health department for Pune district since the outbreak of Covid-19. Out of this stock, as many as 1.56 lakh vials were utilised while the remaining 1.13 lakh vials got wasted in three years’ time. After the vaccines expired, the MNS members on May 27, 2023 wrote to public health minister, Tanaji Sawant, demanding action. Following this, a committee was formed under the deputy director of health services, Dr Radhakishan Pawar, to investigate the matter. As per the committee report dated July 22, 2020, as many as 20,104 vials of Remdesivir were purchased by the district civil surgeon’s office from the Haffkine Institute. From August 26, 2022, a stock of 2.50 lakh vials was received by the district from the central government and other government departments. However, no one was said to be at fault for the wastage by the committee.
Sambhus said that this was a clear case of corruption and that vested interests led to the purchase and procurement of an excess stock of vaccines. “The investigation committee too clearly stated that a stock of 1.13 lakh vials was wasted. There has been no action taken by the health minister and we demand that the chief minister takes action. If no action is taken, we will hold a protest,” Sambhus said.
Despite repeated attempts, Dr Ambadekar remained unavailable for comment.
Whereas Dr Pawar admitted to procuring excess stock and said that it was better to have stock in excess rather than having less vaccines as that would lead to patient deaths. He said that the vials were provided mainly by the central government and that no one could be held responsible for it.
