Kerala PSU to bring out medicines for transplant patients at reasonable rates

Isaac said during a talk on Public Sector Revival that some of the medicines that cost Rs 250 were expected to be as low as Rs 40

Kerala State Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited, a state public sector undertaking, is bringing out drugs for organ transplant patients at very reasonable prices.

Mycophenolate, Tacrolimus and Azathioprine are the medicines that are expected to be brought out soon. The medicines developed at KSDP had already cleared the stability test and are being subjected to bioequivalence test at an agency in Bengaluru.

Kerala former finance minister Thomas Isaac said during a talk on Public Sector Revival that some of the medicines that cost about Rs 250 in the market were expected to be brought for as low as Rs 40.

A KSDP official said that once the bioequivalence test was cleared steps for production would be initiated. Then only the actual prices would be fixed. The medicines were developed by KSDP itself. A total of five medicines required for organ transplantation patients would be brought out in the due course.

Established in 1974, KSDP is now producing 54 types of medicines and each medicine would be of different strengths. At present it is mainly supplying medicines to government agencies in Kerala as well as many other states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. The PSU that was loss making till two years back has recorded a profit of Rs 2.37 crore in 2019.

KSDP's decision to bring out medicines for organ transplant patients would be a relief to scores of patients owing to the high costs involved in the procedure. Moreover, the state even witnessed a scarcity of these medicines during the lockdown.