India bans export of Remdesivir, its ingredients till COVID situation improves

NEW DELHI: India on Sunday banned the export of Remdesivir injection till the Covid-19 situation improves in the country.

The government in a statement said that all domestic manufactures of Remdesivir have been advised to display on their website, details of their stockists/distributors to facilitate access to the drug.

Drugs inspectors and other officers have been directed to verify stocks & also take measures to curb hoarding & black marketing.

The Department of Pharmaceuticals has been in contact with the domestic manufacturers to ramp up the production of Remdesivir, the government said.

In a statement, the government said, "India is witnessing a recent surge in Covid cases. As of April 11, there are 11.08 lakh active Covid cases and they are steadily increasing. This has led to a sudden spike in demand for Injection Remdesivir used in the treatment of Covid patients. There is a potential of a further increase in this demand in the coming days."

A total of seven Indian companies are producing Injection Remdesivir under a voluntary licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences in the United States of America. They have an installed capacity of about 38.80 lakh units per month, it said.

The states and UTs have been advised that the steps should again be communicated to all hospitals, both in public and private sector, and compliance monitored, the statement added.

The government has also advised the States that the extant "National Clinical Management Protocol for Covid-19", which is based on evidence, has been developed after many interactions by the Committee of Experts, and is the guiding document for treatment of Covid-19 patients.

"In the Protocol, Remdesivir is listed as an Investigational Therapy, an example was informed and shared decision making is essential, besides taking note of contraindications mentioned in the detailed guidelines, they added.

The alarming spike in Covid cases in the country has led to a sudden increase in demand for the Remdesivir injection used in treating Covid patients.