Tamil Nadu will be returning 24,000 rapid test kits to suppliers, as advised by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said on Monday.
The ICMR had advised States to stop using the antibody-based testing kits that were procured from two Chinese companies.
In a statement, the Minister said the State had not incurred any expenses, and all other procurement orders stood cancelled, as per ICMR’s advisory.
The ICMR-approved Wondfo SARS-CoV-2 kits were manufactured by Guangzhou Wondfo, a Chinese company. Guangzhou Wondfo appointed two pharma companies to market the product in India — Cadilla Pharma and Matrix Labs.
The Minister said the two importers had authorised a number of dealers across the country, including some in Tamil Nadu. This included Aark Pharmaceuticals, Shan Biotech and Rare Metabolics. The ICMR had issued orders for procuring five lakh kits from Aark Pharmaceuticals at ₹600 each. On this basis, the State placed orders to procure Wondfo kits from Shan Biotech at the same price, he said.
The Minister pointed out that product approvals would have only the name of the manufacturer (Wondfo), and not that of the importer and dealer.
“To say that Shan Biotech was not on ICMR list was wrong. The names of no dealer from whom other States purchased would be on the list,” he said.
Mr Vijayabaskar’s statement came as a response to DMK president M.K. Stalin’s charge that the government had purchased the kits from a Chennai-based company not recognised by the ICMR.
“The ICMR, in fact, gave procurement orders for ₹795 per kit in the second tranche of orders,” the Minister added.
Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation Managing Director P. Umanath explained that the ICMR fixed the price of the kit at ₹ 600 and ordered from Aark, one dealer of Matrix. Considering the demand to expand testing immediately, the TNMSC ordered from Shan Biotech, another dealer of Matrix at the same price in a transparent manner.
Higher rate
Many States placed orders at higher rates (A.P. at ₹730 and Kerala ₹699), but Tamil Nadu got them at the ICMR-fixed rate of ₹ 600, he said.
The Delhi High Court order capping the price at ₹ 400, he pointed out, was based on a litigation by the dealer and importer firms.
Since, the TNMSC placed orders at the ICMR-fixed price, it re-fixed the price at ₹ 400 and had obtained the concurrence.
“For the 24,000 kits supplied, the invoice has been raised for ₹96 lakh plus taxes. However, all kits would now be withdrawn,” he told The Hindu.
Stalin’s allegation
Mr. Stalin alleged that the Delhi High Court order capping the price of imported antibody test kits at ₹400 had exposed the AIADMK government, which had purchased them for ₹600 each. “When I accused the State government of buying the kits at a higher price, it claimed it had purchased them at the price fixed by the ICMR. It is condemnable that Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar had justified the higher price,” Mr. Stalin said in a statement. He said the Chinese company that produced the kit sold it for just ₹225, and the total price of the kit would be ₹245 when the import charges are included.
