New Delhi: At least four vials of an expensive cancer drug have allegedly gone missing from Delhi State Cancer Institute (DSCI), Delhi govt’s only cancer hospital. Hospital sources have also reported disappearance of several units of Sofosbuvir, an antiviral medicine, though the drug has not been mentioned in the police complaint.Police registered an FIR at GTB Enclave police station Monday following a complaint from hospital authorities. “We suspect one vial of the injection could cost around Rs 4 lakh,” police sources said. A senior health official, however, claimed, “The drug costs around Rs 35,000 to Rs 50,000 each. But that is also not less.”According to the complaint filed by Dr Pankaj Tyagi, associate professor and pharmacy in-charge at DSCI, four vials of Nimotuzumab injection, each containing 50mg, had allegedly gone missing from a refrigerator in the chemo daycare department. According to the complaint, the vials were kept in the refrigerator on Oct 3 after completing a chemotherapy procedure. On Oct 5, they were found missing. The complaint was submitted on Oct 9.Nimotuzumab is a monoclonal antibody used in targeted cancer treatment, including for certain head and neck cancers. Given the drug’s reported market value, the alleged theft has raised questions about the hospital’s medicine storage and inventory monitoring systems. Investigators are yet to ascertain the procurement cost of the missing vials and establish how they went missing. It’s also not clear yet whether the alleged disappearance is connected to any organised diversion network.Sources said the alleged disappearance of Sofosbuvir, used to treat hepatitis C, was also being flagged within the hospital. A strip of 28 tablets of the 400mg formulation can cost between Rs 10,000 and Rs 13,000 in the market.Hospital staff said this was not the first complaint involving suspected medicine theft at the facility. TOI could not obtain any response from the DSCI director on the alleged theft despite several attempts.The case comes amid a wider investigation by Delhi Police into the alleged illegal trade of cancer medicines. In Aug, the crime branch arrested 17 people for their alleged involvement in a multi-state racket dealing in stolen and counterfeit cancer drugs. Police then said medicines worth around Rs 9 crore were seized, including 588 vials of critical cancer injections and 3,021 units of other medicines, along with Rs 50 lakh in cash. The network allegedly operated across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Rajasthan, Hyderabad, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.TOI earlier reported how rackets sourced medicines through multiple channels, including the diversion of genuine drugs from hospitals and govt healthcare warehouses. Some medicines were allegedly repackaged, with batch numbers and maximum retail price details removed to conceal their origins.In a subsequent development reported by TOI on Oct 4, investigators said nearly 100 cancer patients had been traced as having received medicines allegedly meant for others.
