Kerala to launch own brand of medicines within two months for organ transplant patients; drugs will be available at low cost

KANNUR: Kerala is launching its own brand of medicines to reduce the cost of follow-up treatment for those who have undergone organ transplants. Kerala State Drugs and Pharmaceuticals (KSDP), a public sector organization, will launch drugs named Azathioprine and Mycophenolate to the market within two months. Cost will be lower than existing drugs. This will be a relief to around 10,000 patients in the state.

The permission of the Central Drugs Control Department was obtained three years ago. Human trials have been successfully completed at IC Bio Lab in Bengaluru. Both samples were tested successfully. Once the testing of three more samples is completed, it will be introduced to the market.

Patients are currently facing a situation where they have to pay huge sums of money for medicines even after expensive organ transplants. Most of the medicines come from states like Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. There is also severe shortage. Due to high cost, many people cannot afford to buy medicines regularly.

KSDP medicines will cost only one-fifth of the current drugs. Current medicines cost Rs 300-500 a day, but these are only Rs 50-70.