Staff at Delhi's top cancer hospitals were part of a racket that stole empty vials of Cancer drug Keytruda, filled them with fake substances, and sold them to desperate cancer patients, those who had no idea they were not receiving real treatment, The Indian Express exposed reported.
Keytruda, known generically as pembrolizumab, is one of the world's most widely used cancer immunotherapy drugs. It works by helping the body's own immune system identify and attack cancer cells. Approved for treating melanoma, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma, and several other cancers, a single vial can cost anywhere between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh in India, making it unaffordable for many patients and highly attractive to counterfeiters.
ALSO READ: Six-Month Keytruda Cancer Treatment Costs Nearly Eight Years Of An Average Indian's Income: Study
As per report, the investigation is based on scrutiny of more than 12,500 pages of police and hospital records, and interviews with several hospital staff members, including oncologists. The Indian Express also investigated records of more than 150 patients across the national capital who had received the original Keytruda — and found that the batch numbers matched what investigators had seized from employees at top Delhi hospitals.
According to a Delhi Police chargesheet filed in Tis Hazari court, eight patients who consumed the fake drugs were identified during the investigation. One of them died. The accused were employed at prominent hospitals in Delhi and Gurgaon.
Four of the accused worked in the oncology departments of top hospitals. Two were pharmacists at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute. Others were employed at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Millennium Cancer Center in Gurgaon, and Venkateshwar Hospital in Delhi.
The operation worked by procuring empty vials for Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000, refilling them with fake substances, and selling them for Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 through pharmacies and on platforms such as Indiamart. Police seized over 140 vials with a market value of approximately Rs 4 crore.
Among those cheated were a patient from Uzbekistan who paid Rs 5.92 lakh for six injections, and a resident of Jammu and Kashmir who paid Rs 1.80 lakh for two.
The case is part of a wider global problem. A global investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists found that not only patients but hospitals have become unwitting customers of fake Keytruda, with potentially fatal consequences. The drug's high price, driven in part by aggressive patent strategies by its maker Merck, has created the conditions for a thriving counterfeit trade worldwide.
ALSO READ: Mankind Pharma Expects Price Hikes Within A Month Due To Oil Shock From Iran War
The study, carried out by oncologists at Tata Memorial Centre accessed by India Today, laid out that a six-month course of the immunotherapy drug Keytruda costs the equivalent of nearly eight years of an average Indian's income.
For patients already fighting cancer, the consequences of receiving a fake injection go beyond financial loss. They receive no treatment at all, while believing they are being treated.
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
