Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence’s fast-tracking of emergency drugs for the Georgetown Public Hospital saw not only the lion’s share of $605m going to ANSA McAl but purchases of the same drugs at varying prices from several of the companies.
And with allegations about the procurement process at the GPHC and calls being made for government to investigate the $605M fast-tracked acquisition, questions are also being raised over the single-sourcing, as an emergency, of 500 body bags in January of this year.
According to documents seen by Stabroek News, ANSA McAl also received a $10,860,000 contract to supply 30, 600 mg injections of Trastuzumab, a cancer treatment drug, under the Genentech and Roche brand Herceptin, in late January of this year. Each unit of the Herceptin drug was pegged at $362,000. The GPHC had noted that the drug was out of stock and it was urgently needed.
