The central government of India has banned the export of anti-viral drug Remdesivir, and its active pharmaceutical ingredients as demand rocketed due to a record surge in COVID-19 infections, leading to a crippling shortages in many states in the country. Authorities have noticed with a concern that ferocious resurgence of the virus is due to crowding and a reluctance to wear masks. As new COVID-19 cases surged to 152,879 in just a one week, the sixth record rise in seven days.
India, known as the pharmacy of the world, has already stalled major exports of coronavirus vaccines, though its supply too has run short in some states of the country. In addition to the Remdesivir ban “till the situation improves,” the government authorities manufacturers had been asked to step up supplies. Seven India-based companies have licensed the drug from Gilead Sciences, with an installed capacity of about 3.9 million units per month, for local use and exports to more than 100 countries.
Some state governments have in recent days raised concerns over hoarding and black marketing of Remdesivir, which in some instances is being sold at over 10 times the maximum retail price. Maharashtra and many other states have also demanded more vaccine doses. India has administered more than 100 million doses since mid-January, the most after the United States and China. “Rostering of health care workers, hiring of contractual health workers need to be expedited,” health secretary said while pointing at an acute shortage of healthcare workers in seven districts of Maharashtra.
The health ministry had to issue an emergency use authorisation of Remdesivir to give doctors access to the medication outside clinical trial setting. Beginning in May 2020, doctors were able to give Remdesivir to patients who were hospitalised with severe Covid-19, rather than limiting its usage to those who were participating in clinical trials. After hospitalised Covid-19 patients nationwide began receiving Remdesivir, authorities started to evaluate the new data about the drug’s effectiveness. In August 2020, India expanded its emergency use authorisation, allowing all hospitalised patients with Covid-19 to receive the drug, including people with mild and moderate disease. In October, authorities again changed Remdesivir’s status from an emergency use authorisation medication to an approved drug.
Researched in many countries had showed that when patients with moderate Covid-19 receive Remdesivir, their symptoms improve more quickly. The drug has also been shown to shorten the duration of patient hospital stays. Among severely ill Covid-19 patients, Remdesivir has been associated with fewer deaths in India. Hence, in order to curb the new wave of COVID-19, Indian government has banned the export to avoid the domestic shortage.
