Two died in VS Hospital’s clinical trials, claims Congress councillor

While Sheth Vadilal Sarabhai General Hospital (VS Hospital) administration had claimed that no patient had died during the clinical trials, Rajshri Kesari, a Congress councillor from Chandkheda, alleged that two patients named Umang Jain and Rehkaftali Saiyed died at VS Hospital during clinical trials. She also accused that many suspicious aspects have emerged during the ongoing investigation of the clinical trials.

The investigation committee has submitted an interim report on the clinical trials conducted on patients by various pharma companies at the AMC-run VS Hospital and SVP Hospital. 

The Congress councillor stated that Jain, a resident of the new Naroda area, died on March 31, 2025. This patient suffered from type-2 diabetes, which affects only one in a thousand people. 

He had been undergoing treatment at VS Hospital for several years. Notably, clinical trials for drugs used in this disease started in 2023. Between 2023 and March 24, 2025, this patient underwent clinical trials more than nine times. When his condition worsened, he was admitted to SVP Hospital, where he died.

Additionally, Saiyed also had undergone clinical trials, which is officially recorded in the AMC’s register who died after the clinical trial. Kesari alleged that more than 100 patients might have undergone clinical trials simultaneously at VS Hospital, and there is suspicion that some patients might have been subjected to multiple clinical trials repeatedly.

The Congress councillor stated that clinical trials at VS Hospital were conducted in collaboration with the ethical committee of Sangini Hospital located in the Jodhpur area. These trials included clinical trials for type-2 diabetes. In 2023, she had disclosed letters related to this collaboration. At that time, the ethical committee included hospital vice-chairperson Dr Pratik Shah, member secretary Dr Atish Shah, clinical member Dr Janak Khambholja, and three other members.