Expired drugs worth lakhs found at Mandya hospital during Lokayukta raid

MANDYA: Lokayukta officials on Wednesday raided the pharmacy main store at the Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS) and found cartons of expired drugs worth lakhs of rupees. They also found Rs 40 lakh worth of Remdesivir which was used for treatment of Covid-19 and had passed their use-by-date.

The hospital authorities are required to return drugs two months before the expiry date, but their actions in storing expired drugs has raised questions about corruption in supply of medicines. The raid was conducted based on a complaint from one Keshavamurthy.

During the pandemic, private hospital used to charge Rs 1.5-2 lakh for Remdesivir, but MIMS had stocked the drug worth lakhs which had expired in 2022 itself. This came to light only after the Lokayukta raid. By wasting the drugs, the hospital authorities, prima facie, have caused huge losses to the exchequer, sources said.

In 2016-17, the Lokayuta officials had raided the hospital and and discovered expired drugs worth lakhs.