Overview
- The state government defended the rollout on Monday, saying Natco Pharma’s generic Risdiplam is already being given under prescribed protocols at treatment centres and was not used as an experimental trial.
- Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and Health Minister K. Muraleedharan said the generic costs about ₹15,000 for a 12‑day supply and the government aims to lower that to roughly ₹9,000 or make the medicine free over time.
- Authorities pointed to two formal safeguards for the policy: approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation and a Supreme Court dismissal of Roche’s challenge to production and use of the generic.
- The Opposition staged a walkout and raised three linked objections: that doses given at SAT Hospital were recorded as a clinical trial, that a new 16‑member health task force includes private‑sector figures who pose potential conflicts of interest, and that budget lines should be restored to cover patients up to age 25.
- SMA treatments are among the most costly for families in India, so the move could reduce out‑of‑pocket distress but may trigger audits or further legal scrutiny of how infants were enrolled and how the task force will shape future health policy.