New Delhi: The Centre has approved increase in the production of Remdesivir to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
The manufacturers of the Remdesivir drug and other stakeholders have been asked to increase production/supply and reduce prices of Remdesivir.
Reports said the total installed capacity of the seven manufacturers of Remdesivir is 38.80 lakh vials per month. The Centre has directed to manufacturers to increase the production capacity of 10 Lakh vials per month. With another 30 lakh vials/month the production capacity for manufacturing will be increased to nearly 78 lakh vials/month.
On Government intervention, Remdesivir supplies of approximately 4 lakh vials meant for Export is being diverted by manufacturers to fulfill domestic requirement.
Manufacturers of Remdesivir have volunteered to reduce the price to less than Rs 3500 by the end of this week, to support the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fight against coronavirus. Manufactures of Remdesivir have been directed to give priority to fulfill hospital/institutional level supplies.
Enforcement Authorities of States and Central Government have been directed by DCGI to take immediate action on incidence of black-marketing, hoarding and overcharging of Remdesivir. National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) is continuously monitoring the availability of Remdesivir.