COVID Fight: Govt Banks On Remdesivir Imports From USA, Egypt

New Delhi: The Centre has started importing Remdesivir from other countries to ease out the shortage of the vital drug against COVID-19 in the country.

The first consignment of 75,000 vials will reach India on Friday, according to a release by the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

As per the release, the government-owned HLL Lifecare Ltd has has ordered 4,50,000 vials of Remdesivir from the US-based M/s Gilead Sciences Inc. and Egyptian company M/s Eva Pharma.

It is expected that Gilead will dispatch 75,000 to 100,000 vials in the next one or two days. Besides, 100,000 more vials will be supplied before or by May 15. EVA pharma will supply approximately 10,000 vials initially followed by 50,000 vials every 15 days or till July.

The release also mentioned that the government has ramped up the production capacity of Remdesivir in the country. As on April 27, the production capacity of the seven licensed domestic manufacturers had increased from 38 lakh vials per month to 1.03 crore vials per month.