Published Oct 30, 2026 | 12:41 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 30, 2026 | 12:41 PM
K Muraleedharan. (X)
A day after telling the Legislative Assembly that expired Remdesivir may have been administered to patients at Kozhikode Medical College during the COVID-19 period, Health Minister K Muraleedharan has adopted a cautious stance, saying his remarks were based on information supplied by the Health Department and had not yet been independently verified.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, the Minister said he would not draw conclusions or make further comments until the expert committee submitted its findings. He maintained that the statement made in the Assembly was based on an official report placed before him, rather than his personal assessment.
The controversy erupted on Thursday when the Minister, responding to a submission by Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan, said Remdesivir that had expired in May 2023 was allegedly administered to patients. He also announced the formation of a special team to investigate whether the use of the medicine had any connection with the deaths of six patients.
However, the statement was quickly challenged by doctors at Kozhikode Government Medical College, who maintained that none of the six patients had received Remdesivir at the hospital. Medical College Hospital Superintendent Dr MP Sreejayan also asserted that no expired medicines had been administered during the Nipah and COVID-19 periods and that the hospital maintained detailed records of all drugs used.
Facing questions over the discrepancy, Muraleedharan said the information he presented had come from responsible officials in the Health Department. He clarified that the central issue was whether the medicine administered to patients was past its expiry date, not the quality of Remdesivir itself.
The Minister said the available records contained indications that the medicine might have expired, but this had not been conclusively established. An independent expert panel had therefore been constituted to examine the matter, and the government would accept its findings before taking a final position.
“I am not an MBBS doctor myself. It is for the experts to examine these aspects,” he said, adding that he did not wish to make premature statements.
Muraleedharan also alleged that intermediaries had wielded considerable influence over the functioning of institutions during the previous LDF government.
Referring to the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited (KMSCL), he claimed that the manner in which it operated had discouraged senior IAS officers from taking up leadership positions in the organisation.
Meanwhile, the Opposition has alleged that the controversy is part of a larger attempt to divert attention from questions surrounding the administration of a medicine labelled ‘for clinical trial’ to children suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) at SAT Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.
The Keralam government’s decision to replace the branded drug used to treat children with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) with a cheaper generic alternative had triggered a debate over drug safety, affordability and access to treatment.
Parents demanded assurances on the new medicine, even as the Health Department defended the switch as a scientifically vetted cost-saving measure.
(With inputs from Dileep V Kumar. Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
