The Maharashtra State Government is planning to procure around 10,000 vials of remdesivir from Cipla. The price of each remedisivir vial would be approximately Rs 7000. The company is planning to launch its product early next week.

Speaking to Express Pharma, Rajesh Tope, State’s Public Health Minister said, “Since the Indian firm has received the manufacturing and marketing approval for remedisivir injection from the DCGI, we are not going to get the remedisivir injections from the Bangladeshi firm, as the cost of each vial is much higher than those of our domestic manufacturers.”

Divulging more details, he said, “We will make a formal announcement in a couple of days, we are in the process of evaluation and considering to procure the drug from Cipla.”

Cipla is one amongst the six Indian generic pharma manufacturers that have signed non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreements with Gilead Sciences for its patented drug Veklury (remdesivir).

Earlier this month, Cipla had signed a contract manufacturing agreement with BDR Pharmaceuticals for remedisivir. And, nearly 10 days back under a license agreement, BDR Pharmaceuticals transferred the formulation technology and methods of development along with other technical inputs related to remdesivir to Sovereign Pharma.

Rishad Dadachanji, Director, Sovereign Pharma informed, “We are very pleased that our facility has been chosen in order to support the demand for remdesivir injections. It is great to see our facility getting the CDSCO and DCGI approvals at this unprecedented speed. During these challenging times, we are proud to share that all our facilities under the KAISHA Group of companies are well prepared to quickly cater to any increased demands for formulations or different packaging solutions. Sovereign Pharma has a high focus on quality and maintains the best practices at all times, which made it easier to get the approvals so quickly. We have already started manufacturing at our Daman facility and can produce between 50000 to 80000 pieces per month.”

Addressing a query about the procurement of favipiravir, another promising anti-viral drug being considered for the treatment of COVID-19, Tope said, “We are also planning to procure favipiravir tablets which are manufactured by Glenmark. We are working to make available all the medicines required for the treatment of coronavirus in the State.”

Recently, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals launched favipiravir under the brand name of FabiFlu for the treatment of mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 infection in India.