Kerala orders expert probe into suspected use of expired Remdesivir in Nipah treatment

Deck: Health Minister K. Muraleedharan told the Assembly that hospital records raised suspicion that vials expiring in May 2023 may have been used in 2023–25. The inquiry will examine any possible link to deaths or adverse effects.

The Kerala government has ordered an expert inquiry into whether Remdesivir stock that expired in May 2023 was administered to patients, including people treated for Nipah infection, at Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital in later years. Health Minister K. Muraleedharan gave the information in the Assembly on 29 October 2026.

The minister said the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited (KMSCL) last purchased 3,000 vials through its Karunya scheme on 3 June 2021, at a cost of ₹42 lakh. The stock had an expiry date of 30 May 2023. Records received from Kozhikode Medical College Hospital showed that 102 vials were used in 2023–24, 34 in 2024–25 and 10 in 2025–26. The minister said the 50 vials recorded as used in 2026–27 had been brought from Bahrain on 12 June 2026 for a Nipah patient.

Based on the hospital records, the minister said there was a suspicion that Remdesivir administered in 2023, 2024 and 2025 may have come from expired stock. The government has directed the Directorate of Medical Education and the Directorate of Health Services to collect details of other patients who received the medicine in similar circumstances.

An expert committee headed by Dr R. Aravind, head of the Infectious Diseases Department at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, is to examine whether expired doses were administered, whether any deaths were linked to their use and whether other patients experienced adverse effects. The minister said the inquiry would also examine procurement and supply procedures.

Important clarification: The reported records have raised a suspicion; they do not establish that every vial administered after May 2023 was expired, nor do they establish that the medicine caused any patient’s death. The medical board’s findings are awaited. The minister said the inquiry concerns the expiry status of the stock, not a general doubt about Remdesivir’s quality or efficacy.

Key details

• Hospital named: Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode
• Last KMSCL purchase cited: 3 June 2021; 3,000 vials for ₹42 lakh
• Expiry date cited: 30 May 2023
• Probe chair: Dr R. Aravind, Head of Infectious Diseases, Thiruvananthapuram Medical College
• Assembly statement: 29 October 2026; follow-up ministerial comments reported on 30 October

Image disclosure: Representative photograph of a hospital building in Bengaluru, not Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital and not a photograph of the inquiry. Photo: Chandan Chaurasia / Unsplash.