SAT Hospital in Keralam rejects charges of ‘clinical trial drugs’ given to SMA-afflicted children

SAT Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, Keralam, the premier tertiary-level child health institution in the State’s public sector and one of the chosen Centres of Excellence for Rare Diseases in the country, has found itself in the eye of the storm following allegations about “clinical trial drugs” being given to spinal muscular atrophy (SMA)-afflicted children.

With Opposition political parties intent on carrying forth with the campaign that “experimental drugs” were used on SMA patients, the Superintendent of SAT Hospital, I. Riaz, appealed to all and sundry not to undermine the government’s efforts to make the drug for SMA available to a larger number of patients.

According to him, the decision to provide SMA patients with a less expensive, generic version of the original molecule against SMA, in place of the imported original drug costing several lakhs of rupees for a single vial, had been taken by a technical committee comprising experts in the field.

The purchase procedures initiated during the previous government’s time were completed by the present government. The drug meets all regulatory requirements and quality norms, Dr. Riaz added.

‘Unfounded rumours’

Dr. Riaz appealed to all to stop spreading unfounded rumours about the generic SMA medicine and push patients and their families into an anxious state. He pointed out that the medicine had been available in the open market for nearly a year and was already being used by several SMA patients. To raise the argument that it was an experimental drug, just when the government begins to distribute it free of cost, was preposterous.

Several health experts pointed out that quality generics were the only way to make expensive medicines accessible and affordable to a large number of people. If people can willingly accept generic oncology drugs, then to find fault with the generic version of SMA drug alone was just hypocrisy.

Financial assistance

The superintendent also condemned attempts by vested interests to link the financial assistance extended by Natco Pharma under their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative to renovate one of the wards in SAT Hospital, to the distribution of generic SMA drug.

SAT Hospital Health Education Society (SATHHES) regularly receives corporate social responsibility funds from various agencies, public and private-sector institutions, and individuals to undertake development projects related to patient care at the hospital

On March 25, 2026, the then Superintendent of SAT Hospital had written to Natco, seeking their assistance to renovate the isolation ward in the hospital

Following a site visit and assessment by company representatives, Natco Pharma transferred ₹25 lakh as the first instalment to the SATHHES account. The company representatives subsequently visited the hospital in the first week of August to meet the Health Minister and hand over a certificate related to the contribution.

The attempts being made to portray this in relation to the generic SMA drug of Natco given at SAT Hospital is malicious and ill-intended, Dr. Riaz said.

It was common for agencies, companies and public-sector institutions providing CSR funds to hand them over and take photographs in the presence of the Health Minister or the Chief Minister, he added.

Instead of spreading baseless allegations, the efforts of the government and SAT Hospital to safeguard the welfare of patients with SMA should be given more support, Dr. Riaz said.