Parents were counselled about generic drug, says doctor in charge of SMA clinic at SAT Hospital

Parents of children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) at the SMA clinic in SAT Hospital were counseled about the government's plan to introduce a generic version of the drug Risdiplam, called Natsmart, instead of the brand-name Evrysdi by Roche, according to V.H. Shankar, the Head of the Department of Medical Genetics and the person in charge of treating rare diseases at the hospital.

Dr. Shankar addressed multiple parent consultations where all their questions regarding the generic drug's safety and efficacy were addressed. He mentioned that six children were given the new generic drug, and parents were informed that the medication they received was different from the previous brand. The technical committee evaluated the decision to switch from Evrysdi to Natsmart multiple times, and the procedure for purchasing the drug started in February 2026.

The Clinic Superintendent had informed patients earlier that they were waiting for the government-supplied Natsmart, but when patients arrived seeking the medicine on Monday, the hospital had secured samples from Natco and provided them to SMA patients. The government-supplied medicine arrived on Tuesday evening, but by then, the story of the "clinical trial" drugs being distributed to SMA patients had already gone viral.

Former Health Minister Veena George criticized the government for supplying drugs meant for clinical trials, alleging that parents had been threatened into returning the medication bottles. Muraleedharan, the Health Minister, clarified that the authorities took back the samples and replaced them with the government-supplied lot to resolve the controversy and calm the parents' concerns.

He also suggested that the 'concerns' might be fabricated by some news channels and possibly even instigated by pharma companies. Many public health experts have expressed concern over the politicalization of the issue by the Opposition, who have continued to raise concerns and allegations of distributing clinical trial drugs to SMA children.