Ferozsons Lab to produce Remdesivir for local and international market

islamabad — Pakistan will start manufacturing Covid-19 treatment drug Remdesivir within two months, said special assistant to the prime minister on health Dr Zafar Mirza on Friday.

Remdesivir will be manufactured under licence from Gilead Sciences Inc, an American research based pharmaceutical company, he said while addressing a Press conference.

Dr Mirza said that Pakistani pharmaceutical company Ferozsons Laboratories has concluded its voluntary licensing agreement with Gilead for the manufacture and sale of Remdesivir.

“Gilead has manufactured this drug and it has proven effective in treating coronavirus patients,” Dr

Mirza said. “It is said that the drug has reduced the intensity of coronavirus by 30 per cent in American hospitals.”

Dr Mirza said five companies in the world had been granted the licence to manufacture the drug. “Among the five companies one of them is a Pakistani,” he said, referring to it as a “breakthrough news”. He said production of the medicine can commence as early as eight weeks after the necessary regulatory approvals are obtained.

Dr Zafar Mirza said the development represents an important step forward for Pakistan on the health, economic and diplomacy fronts. He said it helps provide our citizens and frontline healthcare workers access to the latest treatment for the pandemic in a fast-track manner.

“It will not only be available for patients in Pakistan but the plan is to export it to 127 countries,” the special assistant said. “Pakistan will be among three countries in the world to produce and export this to 127 countries.”

Speaking on the occasion, Ferozsons Laboratories Limited CEO Osman Khalid Waheed said it would be the company’s aim to sell the drug at a minimum cost.

Adviser to the prime minister on commerce Razzak Dawood said it was a proud moment the country’s pharmaceutical industry that a Pakistani company had been made a licensee of the coronavirus drug. —