Four vials of an expensive cancer drug have allegedly gone missing from the Delhi State Cancer Institute (DSCI), the Delhi government’s only cancer hospital, prompting a police investigation and an internal hospital inquiry. Delhi Police have registered an FIR in connection with the disappearance.
The missing medicine is Nimotuzumab, a targeted therapy used for certain head and neck cancers alongside radiotherapy or chemotherapy. The drug works by blocking EGFR, a protein found on cancer cells. Each missing vial contains 50 mg and has a market price ranging from Rs 40,000 to Rs 55,000, according to the report.
The complaint was filed by Dr Pankaj Tyagi, associate professor and pharmacy in-charge at DSCI. According to the complaint, the four vials were placed in a refrigerator in the chemotherapy daycare department on October 3 after a chemotherapy procedure. They were found missing on October 5. The hospital submitted its complaint on October 9, and the FIR was registered at the GTB Enclave police station on Monday.
Police sources said investigators had not yet established the procurement cost of the vials or how they disappeared. They are also examining whether the alleged theft is connected to an organised diversion network involving cancer medicines. The FIR and investigation concern the four Nimotuzumab vials; no conclusion about responsibility or the route of the medicines has been established.
Hospital sources separately told The Indian Express that several units of Sofosbuvir, an antiviral used to treat Hepatitis C, had also gone missing. The medicine is not mentioned in the police complaint. A strip of 28 tablets of the 400 mg formulation is reported to sell for between Rs 10,000 and Rs 13,000.
The reported case comes against the backdrop of a wider investigation into the circulation of stolen and counterfeit cancer medicines. In August, the Delhi Police Crime Branch arrested 17 people for allegedly operating a multi-state racket. Police said they recovered 23 suspected counterfeit anti-cancer medicines, 337 anti-cancer vials and more than Rs 20 lakh in cash. The alleged network was reported to operate across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Haryana and Hyderabad.
DSCI has constituted an internal complaints committee to conduct a separate inquiry into the disappearance. The hospital has previously faced scrutiny over its functioning. The Indian Express reported in August that medical equipment worth over Rs 50 crore was lying unused at the institute, while the chemotherapy daycare room was not operational and patients were being asked to obtain tests from private centres.
The police investigation and the internal committee’s inquiry are expected to establish how the medicines were stored, when they were last accounted for and whether the missing stock was removed from the hospital. Until those inquiries are completed, the circumstances surrounding the alleged disappearance remain under investigation.
