Diabetic claims Rs 5 cr from Wockhardt for 'damage' by drug

MUMBAI: A diabetic, who used Wockhardt's Wosulin insulin, has claimed Rs 5 crore as compensation from the company, alleging the drug had caused 'irreparable damage to his health'.

Kamal Motiram Vidhani, a resident of suburban Khar, slapped a legal notice on Wockhardt last month after he failed to receive suitable compensation from the pharmaceutical firm.

Vidhani purchased the drug in September last year and left for Nigeria, where he became seriously ill. Doctors there tried to treat him but failed to find the cause of his problems, the notice said.

While his health deteriorated, he became unable to perform his routine activities and returned to Mumbai. Doctors here told him that Wosulin was allegedly creating the health complications and discontinued the drug. His condition stabilised but his liver was allegedly 'irreparably damaged' by then, the notice said.

"The drug endangered my client's health and life," Vidhani's lawyer Navin Chomal said.

Though Vidhani approached Wockhardt's regional manager in January, who reportedly assured him of suitable compensation, nothing was done except for pressurising his family to settle the matter out of court with trifle relief, he claimed.

The Food and Drug Administration suspended the production and sale of Wosulin in November last year.

Wockhardt was also directed to withdraw more than 50,000 vials of Wosulin from the market. FDA officials had then said that certain batches of the drug were problematic.

Wockhardt's insulin, launched four years ago, was cheaper than imported drugs.