New Delhi: In a relief to Covid patients, pharmaceutical companies manufacturing Remdesivir in India have significantly lowered prices of the drug being given to patients with severe infection in hospitals following the government’s intervention last week.
Depending on the brand, the price of Remdesivir has dropped to the range of Rs 899-3,490 per 100ml vial from the Rs 2,800-5,400 earlier. The seven manufacturers have voluntarily reduced the prices in view of the pandemic.
Following concerns about a shortage and the high price of Remdesivir in the wake of the surge in Covid cases, the Centre initially stopped export of the drug to cater to local demand. Besides, in a meeting with manufacturers last week, the Centre also decided to facilitate fast-track approval to firms to ramp up production capacities to make around 78 lakh vials a month, double the currently installed capacity of 38.80 lakh vials.
The government also negotiated with the manufacturers on pricing as they agreed to voluntarily reduce the price to ensure the medicine is adequately available and accessible to people.
However, some public health advocates raised concerns about a wide gap in MRP of different brands and urged the government to cap the prices using provisions for emergency situations. Cadila Healthcare, Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Hetero Labs, Jubilant Pharma, Mylan and Syngene International are the local manufacturers of the medicine.
Cadila’s Remdac is the cheapest drug at Rs 899 per vial.
Used for treating Ebola, the anti-viral drug Remdesivir is an ‘investigation drug’ that has shown efficacy in the treatment of Covid patients.
