Overview
- Laboratory tests of a TOCIN (Oxytocin Injection 5 ml) sample manufactured by Jackson Laboratories found no measurable oxytocin, causing the state Drug Control Department to declare the batch noncompliant and ban its sale and use.
- Drug teams seized about 3,500 vials linked to the supply chain and issued alerts to hospitals, distributors and other states while tracing wider distribution beyond Kota.
- At least five women who underwent caesarean or uterine surgery in Kota hospitals developed rapid post‑surgical organ failure and died, and a high‑level medical inquiry and specialist teams from SMS Medical College and AIIMS have been deployed to investigate.
- Officials note the seized vial passed sterility and bacterial endotoxin tests, a result that points to manufacturing or supply‑chain failure rather than contamination and means missing active ingredient alone may not explain the rapid clinical collapses.
- Investigations continue with actions already begun under the Drugs Act against suppliers, hospital staff suspensions in Kota, and full lab and clinical reports expected to determine causality and possible legal steps.