Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Thursday wrote to all the Chief Secretaries of States and asked them to personally ensure seamless supply and transport of anti-viral drug Remdesivir.
"I would urge you to issue necessary instructions to all the authorities concerned to take all measures to ensure seamless supply of Remdesivir to States/UTs concerned. Any disruption or hindrance to the movement of this drug, may have unintended adverse effect to the nation's fight against COVID-19. I would also request you to personally monitor the supply of essential medicines required under COVID Treatment Protocol in your State and appoint Nodal Officers who will be responsible for unrestricted and timely movement of Remdesivir within their State," Bhalla wrote.
He noted that there is a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in the country along with high positivity rate. "In order to break the chain of transmission and curb the spread of COVID-19, various States/UTs have imposed additional restrictions on certain activities, including weekend and night curfews etc," he wrote.
The Union Home Secretary added that a monitoring mechanism has been set up under Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers through National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (NPPA) and Drug Controller General of India for monitoring and coordinating the supply or COVID-19 drugs on a daily basis, with Pharmaceutical Associations, manufacturing companies and State Governments.
"The supply of Remdesivir injection and imported drug Tocilizumab is under severe constraint due to sharp increase in demand. Several steps have been taken to augment the production capacity of the seven licensed manufacturers of Remdesivir injection in the country from 38.80 lakh units per month to 74 lakh units per month by early May 2021," he further said.
