Gilead to expand Remdesivir availability; donates 4.5 L vials to central government

Drug firm Gilead Sciences said it is taking several steps to expand the availability of antiviral drug Remdesivir in India and will also be donating a minimum of 4.5 lakh vials of ‘Veklury’ to the Indian government as COVID-19 cases in the country surge.

“In response to the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in India, the company is providing its voluntary licensing partners with technical assistance, support for the addition of new local manufacturing facilities and the donation of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) to rapidly scale up production of remdesivir’, Gilead Sciences Inc said in a statement. In addition to providing support to its licensees to expand their local manufacturing capacity, Gilead will also donate at least 4,50,000 vials of Veklury (remdesivir) to help address the immediate needs of Indian patients, it added.

Gilead Sciences, Chief Commercial Officer, Johanna Mercier, said the recent surge of COVID-19 cases in India is having a devastating impact on communities and has created unprecedented pressure on health systems.

Maha govt floats global tender to procure Remdesivir, oxygen

Maharashtra government has floated a global tender to procure 10 lakh Remdesivir vials, 40,000 oxygen concentrators and 25,000 metric tonnes of oxygen in the wake of a surge in COVID-19 cases, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Tuesday.

“A global tender has been floated for 10 lakh Remdesivir vials, 40,000 oxygen concentrators, 132 PSA (pressure swing absorption) plants for oxygen, 25,000 MT of liquid medical oxygen and 27 oxygen ISO tanks for storing the life-saving gas as buffer stock for emergency use,” he said.