Indian pharmaceutical company, Zydus Cadila launched the cheapest generic version of antiviral drug remdesivir on Thursday, 13 August priced at Rs.2800 for a 100 mg lyophilized injection. As India continues to battle COVID-19 being the third-worst hit nation, ‘Remdac’ is the most economical treatment for the virus currently.
The company has assured that the drug will be made available across India through the group’s strong distribution chain reaching out to government and private hospitals treating COVID patients.
“Remdac is the most affordable drug as we would like to enable patients to have access to this critical drug in the treatment of COVID-19″, said Dr. Sharvil Patel, the Managing Director of Cadila Healthcare Limited. “Through the course of this pandemic, our efforts have been focused on supporting people in this healthcare crisis, whether it is through developing vaccines, ramping up production and distribution of critical drugs and therapies, making diagnostic tests available, or exploring new treatment options”, he added.
Gilead Sciences Inc’s Remdeivir is an investigational drug that was issued an emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients suffering from severe symptoms of COVID-19. In June 2020, Zydus entered into a non-exclusive agreement with the company to manufacture and sell the drug. The API for the drug has been developed and manufactured at the group’s API manufacturing facilities in Gujarat.
Zydus is the fifth company to launch a copy of the antiviral in India, while their plasmid DNA vaccine ZyCov-D is now in Phase II of the Adaptive Phase I&II clinical trials. Shares of Cadila Healthcare, the listed entity of the group, were trading at ₹387 apiece on BSE, 0.44% higher against their previous close.
Gilead has also entered into licensing agreements with Dr.Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd and Syngene International Ltd to make remdesivir for distribution in 127 countries, including India.
