As demand drops, 60L remdesivir vials may be destroyed

AHMEDABAD: Relatives of Covid patients queued up in waves and for hours at pharmacies for a single dose of remdesivir last summer when the country was in the maws of the pandemic’s second wave. As demand was high and supply low, drug-makers ramped up production. A year on, 60 lakh remdesivir vials are lined up for destruction as their expiry datelooms. India’s relative success in mitigating the pandemic has made these stocks redundant — at least for now. Stocks of Covid-related medicines worth between Rs 800 crore and Rs 1,000 crore remain unused in the country, as per Dharmesh Shah, chairman of Mumbai-headquartered BDR Pharmaceuticals. He said these medicines include remdesivir, liposomal amphotericin B injections, posaconazole tablets and injections, baricitinib tablets,

molnupiravir

tablets, and favipiravir tablets. “Pharma companies will have to bear this loss because there is no other option,” Shah said.

Even the remdesivir stocks for which pharma companies had submitted stability data to the Drugs Controller General of India will be out-ofdate next year. Overall, the expiry date is nearing for remdesivir vials worth Rs 600 crore, remdesivir APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients) worth Rs 200 crore, and other Covid-related medicines.
BDR Pharmaceuticals-Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Hetero,

Jubilant Pharma

, Mylan,

Syngene

, and

Zydus Lifesciences

are leading manufacturers of remdesivir in India.