Government Bans Export of Injection Remdesivir Amidst Rising Cases of COVID19
New Delhi: The surge in COVID cases has led to a sudden spike in demand for Injection Remdesivir which is used in the treatment of COVID patients. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare states that there could be a potential increase in demand for these injections in the upcoming days.
Currently, seven Indian companies having an installed capacity of about 38.80 lakh units per month, are producing Injection Remdesivir under a voluntary licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences, USA.
The Government of India, hitherto, has prohibited the exports of Injection Remdesivir and Remdesivir Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) till the improvement in the situation of spiking COVID19 cases across the country.
In order to ensure easy access of Remdesivir to hospitals and patients, the Government has advised all domestic manufacturers of Remdesivir to display details of their stockists/distributors on their website which will facilitate access to the drug.
Moreover, all Drugs inspectors and other officers have been directed to verify stocks and check their malpractices while also ensuring implementation of other effective actions to curb hoarding and black marketing of these injections. The State Health Secretaries are supposed to review this with the Drug Inspectors of the respective States/UTs, states the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The Department of Pharmaceuticals has also been in contact with domestic manufacturers to speed up the production of Remdesivir Injections.
Witnessing a recent spike in COVID19 cases, India has recorded 11.08 Lakh active COVID cases as of 11th April 2021.
As a result, the Government has advised all the States to implement the existing evidence-based “National Clinical Management Protocol for COVID-19″, which has been developed after many interactions by the Committee of Experts and is the guiding document for treatment of Covid-19 patients.
The Protocol lists Remdesivir as an Investigational Therapy wherein informed and shared decision making is essential, in addition to taking note of contraindications that are mentioned in the detailed guidelines.
Further, the States and UTs have been informed to communicate these steps to all hospitals, (both in the public and private sector) and their compliance shall also be monitored.
