Hospital Report Says Cyclopamine Could be Culprit

An internal report from Kasturba Gandhi Medical Hospital on the birth of a one-eyed baby cited an experimental cancer drug as a possible cause for the disorder. Read the full story on the Wired News website.

The mother had gone childless for 6 years and had sought out the help of a fertility clinic to get pregnant.

In the course of my investigation I visited the hospital three times and was allowed to photograph the child as well as interview three high members of the hospital administration. The head of the pediatrics department, who attended the birth, went over the report with me, but did not allow me to retain a copy. In a section on possible causes for the child's disorder were only two references. 1) That it was a chromosomal disorder pre-existing in the parents, or, 2) that it was due to Cyclopamine--what I found out later was an experimental anti-cancer drug.

The author of the report was not present at our meeting, and the hospital staff present could not tell me how the drug came to be mentioned. Furthermore, despite my repeated requests, I was not allowed to meet with the report's author, nor would the hospital give me any information about the fertility clinic or what treatments the mother took during pregnancy. They also denied access to the mother for direct questioning.

There are many possible explanations for how the disorder could have occurred; yet the reference to the drug and fertility clinic in the hospital report needs further explanation. It is highly unusual to not collect a complete medical history from a patient--especially one who just gave birth to a child with a rare birth defect.

All drug companies I spoke with during my report said that there are currently no clinical trials being conducted on Cyclopamine in India, yet Michael Gray of Curis said that it is available through several medical distributors in the United States and Canada.

I hope to follow up on this report in the coming days.