Tag: Remdesivir

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COVID-19 Health India News

Govt halts state allocation of Remdesivir as supply improves

Remdesivir

The Minister informed that the production of Remdesivir was ramped up ten times from 33,000 vials per day on April 11 this year to 3,50,000 vials per day on Saturday…reports Asian Lite News

As the production of Remdesivir was ramped up ten times from 33,000 vials per day to 3.5 lakh, the Central government on Saturday decided to discontinue the central allocation of Remdesivir vials to states.

Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers, Mansukh Mandaviya, made the announcement and also directed the National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Agency and Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to continuously monitor the availability of Remdesivir in the country.

The Minister informed that the production of Remdesivir was ramped up ten times from 33,000 vials per day on April 11 this year to 3,50,000 vials per day on Saturday.

He said that the Central government has also increased the number of plants producing Remdesivir from 20 to 60 within a month. “Now the country has enough Remdesivir as the supply is much more than the demand.”

The Central government has decided to procure 50 lakh vials of Remdesivir to maintain it as a strategic reserve for emergency requirement, the Minister added.

During the peak of the second wave of the pandemic in April, there was an acute shortage of Remdesivir across the country. The drug which is only to be used in severe Covid-19 cases was hoarded and black-marketed.

Remdesivir is a patented drug that was recommended as an investigational therapy drug given in acute and severe Covid-19 cases. This drug is to be administered only to patients under oxygen support. Seven pharmaceutical companies, including Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Lab, Hetero, Jubilant Pharma, Mylan, Syngene and Zydus Cadila, manufacture Remdesivir in India under voluntary licences granted by Gilead Life Sciences, USA, the company which holds the patent of Remdesivir.

The decision was taken by the government as the overall Covid-19 situation of the country has stabilised in the past few days and on Saturday, the country recorded 1.73 lakh fresh Covid-19 infections, the lowest in the last 45 days.

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COVID-19 India News

India got 3L Remdesivir vials, over 6K O2 concentrators

How remdesivir can save lives in nations with lower hospital capacity.
A total of 4,668 ventilators or Bi PAP were also sent to India from April 27 to May 8…reports Asian Lite News.

India has cumulatively has received three lakh Remdesivir vials, 6,738 oxygen concentrators, 3,856 oxygen cylinders and 16 oxygen generation plants from the global community in the last 13 days, an official statement said on Sunday.

A total of 4,668 ventilators or Bi PAP were also sent to India from April 27 to May 8.

The major items received on Saturday from Canada, Thailand, the Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic, Israel, the US, Japan, Malaysia, US (GILEAD), US (salesforce) and Indian community in Thailand include 2,404 oxygen concentrators, 25,000 Remdesivir vials, 218 ventilators, and 6,92,208 testing kits.

A coordination cell has been created in the Union Health Ministry to coordinate the receipt and allocation of foreign Covid relief material. This cell started functioning from April 26, and Standard Operating Procedure has been framed and implemented by the Health Ministry since May 2, the statement said.

According to the statement, the Central government has designed a streamlined mechanism for effective allocation and prompt distribution of the supplies received by India. This will help to supplement the medical infrastructure of the tertiary care institutions and recipient states and UTs, and strengthen their clinical management of the hospitalised Covid-19 patients.

India has been receiving international aid of Covid-19 medical supplies and equipment since April 27 from different countries and organisations.

AIIMS Director, Professor Randeep Guleria, on Sunday, thanked all for sending foreign aid in form of medical equipment – ventilators, oxygen cylinders, and oxygen concentrators to fight huge surge of cases.

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Nepal seeks India’s medical assistance to fight virus

Nepal

The list of requirements includes oxygen, Remdesivir and intensive care unit beds….reports Asian Lite News

The Nepal government has sought assistance from India for the supply of oxygen, antiviral drugs and intensive care unit beds, as the countrys healthcare system is cracking under the pressure of the rising coronavirus caseload.

According to officials, a request to that effect was made to New Delhi by the Ministry of Health through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Nepali embassy in New Delhi has already started taking up the matter with concerned Indian government agencies, officials said.

“We have received a list of requirements from the government and have forwarded them to relevant (Indian) government agencies,” a senior Nepali diplomat at the Nepali embassy in Delhi told the Post over the phone.

The list of requirements includes oxygen, Remdesivir and intensive care unit beds, the Kathmandu Post reported on Saturday.

The request, however, has come at a time when India itself is struggling to contain the lethal second wave of the coronavirus, with the daily count of infections soaring over 300,000 and the number of daily deaths hitting a record 2,263.

Public health experts say the request to India at this time exposes the government’s lack of preparedness against the looming second wave about which they had consistently warned.

That the second wave of the coronavirus was going to strike was evident when India, after a decline in the number of infections, which many termed “miraculous”, started reporting a sudden resurgence of the virus. The daily count started to shoot up at an exponential rate. Concerns had grown in Nepal, but authorities by and large made no moves, while governance took a backseat as politicians, including Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, engaged in a bitter political fight.

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Nepal too had seen a sudden decline in the number of cases after the daily count hit the highest ever on October 21 last year at 3,439. But from less than 100 new infections on March 12, the country on Thursday reported 2,365 new cases.

The Ministry of Health said on Friday the number of new cases in the past 24 hours hit 2,449, with five deaths.

Officials say the country’s health facilities are already overwhelmed, with hospitals running out of intensive care beds, oxygen and Remdesivir.

How remdesivir can save lives in nations with lower hospital capacity.

About a few weeks ago, when India decided to impose a ban on exports of Remdesivir, Nepali officials said that Nepal won’t be impacted much by the decision, and it was importing the antiviral drug from Bangladesh as well.

Public health experts, doctors and analysts say India is no doubt a friendly country but extending a begging bowl at a time when the neighbour itself is struggling to deal with one of the biggest humanitarian crises of its own just does not make sense.

“Why not procure some items like Remdesivir from Bangladesh, as it is manufactured there as well,” said Baburam Marasini, former director of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division. “The government can purchase small oxygen concentrations also from East Asian countries like Thailand and Malaysia.”

As the coronavirus cases are swelling, there are concerns about hospitals running out of oxygen. Out of 185 hospitals across the country, only 26 have oxygen plants and not all of them are in operation.

As far as intensive care unit beds are concerned, their number currently stands at 1,486 throughout the country. The number of general beds which can be allocated for coronavirus patients stands at 18,917.

“Until now, as far as I understand, we have a fairly good stock of oxygen, but we might need more. However, there is a need to preserve what we have, as there are chances oxygen, which is in high demand in India, could be smuggled out.”

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Health India News

Govt alerted on black marketing of Remdesivir

LocalCircles has asked DCGI to take immediate action in this regard and issue necessary directive to all the drug controllers such that there is immediate action against this on the ground….reports Asian Lite News

The government has been alerted about the massive black marketing of Covid drug Remdesivir, which according to some evidence is selling for as high as Rs 50,000, over 10 times of its MRP.

In a letter to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), LocalCircles has pointed out that over the last 72 hours, once again many posts and comments have been received from various cities of India raising similar concerns and some have even quoted the drug selling for as high as Rs 50,000 over 10 times of the MRP of the drug.

“Once again, certain medical shops have been telling buyers that the medicine is in short supply but can be made available if they are ready to pay a premium,” the letter said.

LocalCircles has asked DCGI to take immediate action in this regard and issue necessary directive to all the drug controllers such that there is immediate action against this on the ground.

Local Circles said immediate enforcement needed once again to stop sale of Covid-19 drug Remdesivir above MRP.

On July 6, 2020, LocalCircles had alerted about the rampant black marketing of Covid management drug Remdesivir after hundreds of posts and comments regarding its black marketing were received on this community social media network and 93 per cent consumers wanted to see the government action.

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