New
Delhi, (the states. news)
The Central
government has approved an increase in production and supply and reduction in
prices of anti-viral drug Remdesivir, being used in treating Covid-infected
patients, an official release said here on Wednesday. (#Corona_virus )
As per the release, Mansukh Mandaviya, Chemicals & Fertilisers minister has
reviewed the availability of Remdesivir and in a meeting with all-existing
manufacturers of the Remdesivir drug and other stakeholders, approval was given
for seven additional sites for the production of 10 Lakh vials per month.
Currently, India is producing 38.80 lakh vials of Remdesivir every month
through seven manufactures.
During the meeting, manufacturers of Remdesivir have volunteered to reduce the
price of the drug to less than Rs 3,500 by the end of this week, the release
said.
As the cases of Covid-19 are rising day-by-day, Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat,
Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have started reporting a shortage of
Remdesivir.
In view of the scarcity, the Directorate of Foreign Trade in the Ministry of
Commerce and Industry issued an order prohibiting the export of Remdesivir and
active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) required in its production until
further notice.
Remdesivir, an injectable anti-viral, was manufactured in 2014 to treat Ebola.
It has since been used to treat SARS and MERS.
In 2020, it was reintroduced for Covid treatment. As per the clinical
experience, the drug works best in mildly ill patients, and in the early stages
of hospitalisation. (uni) (media
saheb.com)