Gilead to donate 450k remdesivir vials to India, boost production
NEW DELHI: Gilead Sciences Inc said on Monday it will give India at least 450,000 vials of its antiviral drug remdesivir and help boost production, as the world’s second-most populous country reels from surging coronavirus cases.
“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 said in a statement
Remdesivir is approved in India for restricted emergency use to treat severe Covid-19 cases, but hospitals are facing supply shortages due to indiscriminate use and the drug is being sold at over 10 times its listed price in the black market.
Seven Indian companies have licensed the drug from Gilead, with an installed capacity of about 3.9 million units per month. Gilead said all of them were scaling up their batch sizes and adding new manufacturing facilities.
FOSTER CITY: Gilead Sciences Inc. said on Monday it will give India at least 4,50,000 vials of its anti-viral drug remdesivir and help boost production, as the world’s second-most populous country reels from surging coronavirus cases.
Remdesivir is approved in India for restricted emergency use to treat severe Covid-19 cases, but hospitals are facing supply shortages due to indiscriminate use and the drug is being sold at over 10 times its listed price in the black market.
The shortage has raised concerns about hoarding as people queue up outside clinics and hospitals to buy the drug and millions take to social media to secure supplies.
Earlier this month, India banned the export of the drug and the active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) used to make it. Seven Indian companies have licensed the drug from Gilead, with an installed capacity of about 39 lakh units per month. Gilead said on Monday all of them were scaling up their batch sizes and adding new manufacturing facilities and local contract manufacturers.
There are doubts about the drug’s effectiveness in treating Covid-19. The World Health Organisation (WHO) in November issued a conditional recommendation against the use of remdesivir in hospitalised patients, but India has continued to use it.
A senior Indian government health official said last week that remdesivir is only for those patients who need oxygen. “I am appealing that the hype over this medicine should be decreased, and it should be used in a rational manner,” Vinod Kumar Paul said.
On Monday, Russian pharmaceutical firm Pharmasyntez said it was ready to ship up to 10 lakh packs of remdesivir to
India by end-May once it received the Russian government’s approval.
India has reported more than 3,00,000 new Covid-19 cases per day over the past six days. It has an official tally of 1.73 crore infections and 1,95,123 deaths, health ministry data showed, although health experts say the figures likely run higher.
Nations including Britain, Germany and the US have pledged support, while the WHO termed the situation as “beyond heartbreaking”.