Ahmedabad: A recent probe has uncovered that eight doctors and an associate professor at VS Hospital, managed by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), allegedly conducted unauthorized drug trials on patients since 2021 in collaboration with over 50 pharmaceutical companies.

A committee found that an allegedly unauthorized ethics committee at the hospital conducted drug trials on nearly 500 patients suffering from various illnesses, in collaboration with private pharmaceutical companies. The committee also reportedly collected lakhs of rupees for these trials, which were carried out without the necessary permissions.

Deputy Municipal Commissioner Bharat Parmar stated that after a new superintendent was appointed at the hospital, a complaint regarding illegal drug trials surfaced. In response, AMC launched a probe and, based on initial findings, suspended Dr. Devang Rana. Additionally, eight contractual doctors serving at the hospital have been relieved of their duties.

During a press briefing—attended by NHL College Dean Dr. Cherry Shah, Professor Dr. Supriya Malhotra, AMC’s Manish Trivedi, and Vigilance Director Hina Bhathawala—Dr. Malhotra revealed that the ethics committee approving these trials lacked legal sanction. She noted that the committee was formed after the establishment of SVP Hospital and did not secure proper approvals.

Dr. Malhotra added that 57–58 clinical trials were conducted without maintaining records. Information has now been obtained from Site Management Officers (SMOs) of the pharmaceutical companies involved. The probe confirms that these trials have been ongoing since 2021.

It has also come to light that the former hospital superintendent played a key role in the scam by securing the DyMC’s signature while ignoring established protocols. DeshGujarat