Hetero is one of the drug manufacturers having concluded agreements with the American company Gilead. (Representative)
Bengaluru:
Hyderabad-based Hetero Labs Ltd has assessed its generic version of remdesivir, Gilead’s experimental drug COVID-19, at 5,400 rupees ($ 71) per 100 milligram bottle, the drug maker said on Wednesday is preparing to ship them to hospitals across the country.
The private company said it would supply 20,000 vials of the drug. Pharmaceutical company Cipla Ltd announced Tuesday that its own version of remdesivir, an antiviral drug, would cost less than 5,000 rupees.
Cipla and Hetero are part of a multitude of drug manufacturers who have entered into license agreements with US-based Gilead Sciences Inc, the original manufacturer of remdesivir, to manufacture and sell the drug in 127 income countries weak or intermediate.
Regulator Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the generic versions made by Cipla and Hetero for restricted emergency use in severe cases of COVID-19.
Treatment was the first to show improvement in COVID-19 patient trials and was approved for emergency use in critically ill patients in the United States and South Korea, and received full approval in Japan. It has no price yet in the United States.
India, the fourth most affected country by the coronavirus, reported a total of 456,183 infections and 14,476 deaths on Wednesday.
