Kerala orders 2,159 bottles of SMA drug Risdiplam for children

Kerala has issued orders to procure 2,159 bottles of Risdiplam, the first at-home oral treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, Health Minister K. Muraleedharan told the Assembly. The state earlier paid ₹5.5 lakh per bottle for the branded drug, but since October 19 has supplied Natco Pharma's generic version, Natsmart, costing about ₹11,000, through its KARE rare-disease scheme.