Zydus Cadila launches Remdesivir injection at Rs 2,800
Zydus Cadila, a part of Cadila Healthcare, announced the launch of Remdesivir for 100 mg/vial (lyophilised injection) on Thursday at a price of Rs 2,800 to treat COVID-19 in India.
The company is going to market this product under the brand name ‘Remdac’ in India, which is expected to become the most economical Remdesivir brand in India.
A few other companies have also launched Remdesivir recently, which includes names like Cipla at a price of Rs 4,000 and Jubilant Life Sciences at Rs 4,700. Further, Dr Reddy is also expecting to launch Remdesivir in August 2020 and it has received a voluntary licence from Gilead Sciences to manufacture and distribute the said drug.
Previously in June 2020, Zydus Cadila had signed a non-exclusive licencing agreement with Gilead Sciences, Inc. Thus, providing the former with a right to register, manufacture, and sell Gilead’s investigational drug Remdesivir in 127 countries, which includes India as well. Gilead Sciences Inc. has entered into a non-exclusive licencing agreement with four Indian companies namely Cipla Ltd, Hetero Labs Ltd, Jubilant Life Sciences, and Mylan and one Pakistani firm Ferozsons Laboratories.
Remdesivir is the only antiviral drug, which has received an emergency use authorisation (EUA) by United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for treating suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in adults and children, who are hospitalised with severe disease.
Today, the stock of Cadila Healthcare gained nearly three per cent to Rs 395.05 on BSE.