Centre ramps up production capacity of Remdesivir injections up to 74 lakh vials per month

Amid the shortage of the Remdesivir injections, effective in COVID-19 treatment, the central government on Wednesday ramped up the capacity of domestic production from 38 lakh vials per month to 74 lakh vials per month, the Union Health Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Also, considering the immediate requirement, the Department of Revenue also waived customs duty on Remdesivir injections acting on the recommendation of the Department of Pharmaceuticals. The government also approved an additional  20 manufacturing units of the drug and made an interim allocation of Remdesivir for 19 states and Union territories (UTs) until April 30. 

“Remdesivir being an investigational therapy drug given in acute and severe versions of COVID-19 where oxygen support is a must, this allocation pertains to 14 States/UTs, including Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, to which medical oxygen is allocated, and five other States where high volume of supplies is being observed,” the Ministry said in a statement. 

According to the Union Health Ministry, all support is being extended to manufacturers by the government in boosting the production of the much-needed drug as the country battles the hard-hit second wave of COVID-19.  Export of Remdesivir, earlier, was also prohibited in order to scale up domestic supplies and curb the black market sales. States were asked to make bulk purchases of the Remdesivir through the private distribution channels.

Centre ramps up O2 allocation

The investigational therapy drug is used to minimize the severity of  COVID-19 at the time when patients need Oxygen supplement. The Union Health Ministry also ramped up the O2 allocation pertaining to at least 14 states to which medical oxygen is issued and 5 other states where high volume of supplies are being observed.  "Delhi has been allocated 61,900 vials, Madhya Pradesh 92,400, Chhattisgarh 48,250, Kerala 16,100, Karnataka 25,400, and Haryana 29,500," the ministry said. The aggressive measures were taken by the central government after India recorded 2,95,041 new COVID cases in the last 24 hours, according to the ministry’s official data.

“Export of Remdesivir has also been prohibited on April 11 in order to shore up domestic supplies. To further address reports of shortages in certain regions of the country and facilitate the smooth inter-state supply of Remdesivir, we, in coordination with the Department of Pharmaceuticals have made an interim allocation of Remdesivir for 19 States/UTs for the period up to April 30," the Union Health Ministry announced.