Theft of children’s cancer drug: Company blacklisted

October 24, 2013, 9:35 pm 

by Don Asoka Wijewardena

The Health Ministry has blacklisted Omaxs Healthcare (Pvt) Ltd. and interdicted five pharmacists attached to the Maharagama Cancer Institute (MCI) following the discovery of a major cancer drug racket.

Health Secretary Dr. Nihal Jayathilaka said that the Investigation, ordered by Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena, had revealed that the local agents of Omaxs Healthcare (Pvt) Ltd., with the assistance of the five pharmacists, had, after selling the cancer drug, known as ‘Oncasper’, which came in phials, pilfered and resold it to the Cancer Institute.

‘Oncasper’, is a drug injected into children suffering from cancer, especially leukemia, and a phial costs around Rs. 237,000.

Dr. Jayathilaka added that due to the fraud the government had incurred a loss of around Rs. 948,000, but action had been taken to recover that amount from the five pharmacists.

He said that "pegylated Asparagines" (Oncasper) was a highly expensive drug. The said company had been supplying the drug for a long time. The probe, conducted by the Health Ministry Investigation Unit, had found that the company, along with its local agents had been involved in wrong doings. Dr. Jayathilaka said: "On the instructions of Minister Sirisena I have already instructed the Drug Technical Consultative Committee to blacklist the particular company and the case will be handed over to the CID for further investigations. At the same time the injection phials will be sent to the Government Analyst for testing."