New Delhi: The Modi government has kickstarted the process to check the availability of the antiviral drug remdesivir across India as the country witnesses a surge in Covid-19 cases.
The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), which works under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, and the drug price and availability regulator, National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (NPPA), has started the drive to check available stocks in states struggling with a higher Covid burden.
Remdesivir is one of the most sought-after experimental drugs for the treatment of Covid-19 patients and part of the country’s treatment protocol.
“We have recently checked with Gujarat and no shortage has been found in their stocks,” said a senior official from DoP while adding that NPPA will also be checking the stocks in all states.
Some posts on social media had suggested there was a shortage of the drug, while the largest lobby of drug distributors and chemists in India, the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), claimed that states are facing shortages.
“Remdesivir is short in supply because the companies had cut the manufacturing. The production was very slow before 10 March. It has been jacked up, but still, it is in short supply as cases have multiplied much faster than expected,” Rajiv Singhal, general secretary, AIOCD, told ThePrint.
“It is short in all major states, including Maharashtra where cases are at a peak. While the government of Maharashtra has already procured more than 40,000 vials, still it is facing a shortage. In Madhya Pradesh too, demand is more than supply. Daily demand is approximately more than 10,000 vials but the state is receiving an average of 5,000 to 6,000 vials per day.”
ThePrint reached several manufacturers of the drug in India — Cipla, Hetero Labs, Jubilant Life Sciences and Zydus Cadila — via email for a comment but did not receive a response till the time of publishing this report.
One of the expensive drugs, remdesivir had recorded total sales of Rs 593 crore from July to December 2020, according to data by research firm IQVIA.
Currently, there are 6,91,597 active cases of the total 1,24,85,509 infections recorded in India since the beginning of the pandemic.
As many as 7,59,79,651 have been vaccinated since 16 January, when the government began its national Covid-19 immunisation programme.
Also read: Approved by US, rejected by WHO — science of remdesivir & why it has turned controversial
Govt pushed drug makers to increase output in 2020
During the peak of the pandemic last year, the Centre had in July stepped up pressure on drugmakers to ensure an increased output of remdesivir.
The DoP had instructed the industry to keep increasing the product so that no market shortages happen. It also asked the companies to keep an eye on the black market.
Companies were hesitant about investing heavily in the drug as they were not sure if it would reap returns once vaccines became available.
They had told the government that the manufacturing of remdesivir is not an easy process and involves 21 processes and 14 raw materials, apart from highlighting that they were afraid of their huge investments going to waste once vaccines became easily available.
(Edited by Manasa Mohan)
Also read: Cipla to experiment with Covid drug remdesivir composition to reduce effect on kidneys