Centre stops allocation of Remdesivir to states, says production of Covid-19 drug increased tenfold

The Centre on Saturday announced that it would stop central allocation of Remdesivir to states, arguing that the supply of the life-saving medicine has surpassed the demand.

The decision came at a time when Covid-19 cases began to drop and also recommendations were made against the extensive use of Remdesivir after no evidence of the anti-viral drug's effectiveness was found in curtailing mortality or reducing the need for mechanical ventilation among hospitalised Covid-19 patients.

Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya said the strategic stock of 50 lakh vials of Remdesivir will, however, be maintained.

He said the production of Remdesivir has been ramped up tenfold from 33,000 vials a day on April 11, 2021 to 3,50,000 vials a day currently, while the number of plants producing Remdesivir has been increased from 20 to 60.

"Now the country has enough #Remdesivir as the supply is much more than the demand. So we have decided to DISCONTINUE the Central Allocation of Remdesivir to States," Mandaviya tweeted.

The government had earlier waived customs duty on Remdesivir, its raw materials and other components used in making the antiviral drug to increase its availability and reduce the cost of the injection. When Covid-19 cases skyrocketed in April and Remdesivir demand grew despite reports of the drug not being very effective, the central government had banned the export of the injection and its active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) till the situation improves.

The World Health Organization (WHO) had last year issued a conditional recommendation against the use of Remdesivir for hospitalised patients, regardless of disease severity, as it could not find any conclusive evidence that the drug improves chances of survival and other outcomes among these patients.

However, despite such reports, the drug is very much in demand across the country. Nearly 7.7 lakh Remdesivir vials received as aid from abroad were also dispatched to States and Union Territories from April 27 to May 28 amid the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.

Mandaviya also directed the National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Agency (NPPA) and CDSCO to continuously monitor the availability of Remdesivir in the country.