Missing high-cost cancer drug vials spark theft probe at Delhi's sole cancer hospital
Four vials of the expensive cancer drug Nimotuzumab have reportedly vanished from the Delhi State Cancer Institute, prompting a police FIR and raising concerns over drug security.
At the Delhi State Cancer Institute, the only government-run cancer hospital in the capital, four vials of Nimotuzumab injection were found missing after being placed in a refrigerator on Oct 3 and discovered absent on Oct 5. Dr Pankaj Tyagi, the institute's pharmacy in-charge, lodged a complaint on Oct 9, leading police to register an FIR at GTB Enclave. Authorities estimate each vial's value between Rs 35,000 and Rs 4 lakh, highlighting the financial stakes.
The complaint also flagged the loss of a strip of Sofosbuvir tablets, though these were omitted from the formal police report. Hospital personnel note prior incidents of suspected medicine theft, and the investigation coincides with a larger crackdown on a alleged nationwide network that traffics stolen and counterfeit cancer drugs across several Indian states.
Why it matters
The disappearance underscores vulnerabilities in drug storage and may signal larger illegal pharmaceutical diversion networks.
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