The production of the anti-viral drug Remdesivir will be doubled to nearly 3 lakh vials per day in the next 15 days. Conveying this major decision, the Minister of State for Chemical & Fertilizer Mansukh Mandaviya said that the Centre is committed to ensure affordable availability of the drug.
The drug Remdesivir has shown to have effective results in better recovery of critically ill and hospitalised Covid patients. Mandaviya said currently 20 manufacturing plants are engaged in the country in manufacturing the anti-viral drug.
He added that another 20 manufacturing sites have already been granted Government's approval and they would soon add to the existing production capacity of 1 lakh 50 thousand vials per day. The minister asserted that due to Centre's active intervention, the major pharma companies have significantly reduced the prices of their Remdesivir brands.
With rising cases of Covid-19 in the country, the vital drug to treat the disease, Remdesivir is in high demand. The Government is looking to meet this demand by doubling the production of the antiviral drug to around 3 lakh vials per day over the next 15 days.
Mandaviya has tweeted that the process has already started to enhance the production of Remdesivir in the country.
"We are trying to increase production of Remdesivir injection and also that its price comes down. Currently, we are producing 1.5 lakh vials per day. In the next fifteen days, it will be doubled to 3 lakh vials per day," he said on Twitter.
He added that "In the next few days, we are trying to maximise the remdesivir production. The drug companies have also reduced retail prices of the medicine and patients will benefit from it.”
Yesterday, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority said pharmaceutical companies like Cadila Healthcare, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Cipla have reduced the price of their respective brands of Remdesivir injection (100mg/vial).
As per the details given out by the NPPA, Cadila Healthcare has reduced the price of its REMDAC (remdesivir 100 mg) injection to Rs.899 from Rs.2,800 earlier.
