In connection with the incident at the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) in Thiruvananthapuram where there was a drug label mismatch, wherein a chemotherapy drug meant for lung cancer was packed inside a carton marked as drugs for brain cancer, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has directed that legal proceedings be expedited and completed against the pharma firm which supplied the drugs.
The directive was issued by the chairperson of the commission, former judge Alexander Thomas, in a case registered suo motu, based on media reports. The commission had earlier ordered a comprehensive inquiry into the matter.
According to a report submitted to the commission by the director of RCC, on July 9 last year, the label mismatch was discovered by the RCC pharmacy staff while dispensing drugs to a patient. They had found that in a set of ten packs of the drug Temozolomide 100 mg, two packets were labelled Etoposide 50 mg. In effect, a different drug was found inside the packaging of another medicine.
Following the discovery of the mistake, the State Drugs Controller had confiscated five packs of the drugs and produced them before the court. Legal action has been initiated against the company that supplied the drug, and the firm has also been blacklisted, according to the drugs controller who appeared before the commission.
The chairperson issued orders directing the RCC director to ensure that legal action against the company is completed without delay.
Published – January 24, 2026 08:45 pm IST
