Amid rise in coronavirus cases in the state, the Maharashtra government has placed an order of 60,000 vials of Remdesivir and booked 20,000 vials of Tocilizumab.
According to a report by Mumbai Mirror, Directorate of Medical Education and Research has placed that order at a competitive rate. The state government has ordered Remdesivir at Rs 3,392.48 each and Tocilizumab at Rs 30,870 each.
This comes after Maharashtra continues to face acute shortage of Remdesivir and Tocilizumab due to black marketeering. These two key medicines being used to treat coronavirus in India, both are approved by the US Food and Drug Authority for the treatment of COVID-19.
The Maharashtra chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) had asked the Maharashtra government to increase the supply of remdesivir and tocilizumab to at least 10,000 vials per day.
Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry has asked all the states to strengthen their vigil so that black marketing of Covid-19 drug Remdesivir is prevented. The Directorate General of Health Services under the Health Ministry has written to the Drug Controllers of the states to prevent sale of Remdesivir above MRP. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has given approval for the manufacturing and marketing of Remdesivir to Cipla, Hetro and Mylan. The DGHS said that it has received a letter from LocalCircles routed through the Health Ministry, raising concerns over black marketing and overpricing of Remdesivir by certain unscrupulous persons.
