India to get 450,000 vials of remdesivir from Gilead, partner

 

India will get a shipment of 450,000 vials of remdesivir from US-based innovator of the drug, Gilead Sciences Inc, and its Egypt-based voluntary licensee Eva Pharma in various tranches till July, the ministry of chemicals and fertilizers said in a statement on Friday.

“The first consignment of 75,000 vials will reach India today (Fri)... It is expected that Gilead Sciences will dispatch 75,000 to 100,000 vials in the next one or two days," the ministry said, adding that Gilead will also supply another 100,000 vials by 15 May.

Apart from Gilead’s supply, India will also get remdesivir from Egypt-based Eva Pharma, with which Gilead had signed a voluntary licensing agreement in May last year.

Eva pharma will supply approximately 10,000 vials initially followed by 50,000 vials every 15 days till July.

Import of the 450,000 vials of remdesivir will be done by state-owned HLL Lifecare, the ministry said.

Earlier this week, Gilead had announced that it will donate at least 450,000 vials of Veklury, the company’s brand of remdesivir, to the Indian government to help address the immediate needs in the country, which is currently struggling with the second wave of the covid-19 pandemic.

It is not clear whether the 450,000 vials imported by the Indian government are part of Gilead’s donation or whether India would be paying for it. Queries sent to the spokesperson for the ministry remained unanswered at the time of publishing.

Imports from Gilead are part of the larger effort to scale up supply of remdesivir—a key drug against moderate to severe covid-19—through increasing production capacity of companies in India and through such imports.

Apart from Eva Pharma, Gilead had in May signed a voluntary licensing agreement with seven Indian companies—Cadila Healthcare, Syngene International, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Cipla, Viatris (which was earlier Mylan), Jubilant Generics and Hetero Healthcare—to contract manufacture the intravenous drug. Syngene has also partnered with Sun Pharmaceutical Industries to manufacture the drug.

The seven companies have together ramped up production of remdesivir to over 10 million vials per month from just 3.8 million vials a month ago, and the increased supplies have already started coming into the market, with companies expecting the situation to resolve from next week.

Companies have also voluntarily reduced prices of the drug to below ₹3,500 per vial from ₹5,400 earlier after being urged by the government to do so.

With shortage of remdesivir and subsequent blackmarketing of the drug, the government has also banned its export to improve supply while the regulatory authorities at the Centre and states are working to curb blackmarketing.