Amid a shortage of Remdesivir injections in Maharashtra, Health Minister Rajesh Tope has on Thursday directed to cap the price of the drug. For the uninitiated, Remdesivir is considered a key anti-viral drug in the fight against COVID-19, especially in adult patients with severe complications.
Speaking at a meeting with chief executives of seven companies producing these injections, the Health Minister suggested that the MRP printed on Remdesivir injections should be reduced. It should be available anywhere across the state at a price of Rs 1100 to Rs 1400, he said.
Tope added that the state currently requires 50,000 Remdesivir injections daily. However, this number could go up to 1.5 lakh per day by the end of April. Hence, the production should be doubled, he said.
"Companies have started incremental production and it will take at least 20 days for the process to be completed and new injections to arrive. After that, the state will not feel its shortage. Given the current state of scarcity in the state, some companies have agreed to supply stocks to Maharashtra. However, the use of injections will have to be controlled for the next few days. About 70% of the total production of the companies is being supplied to Maharashtra," a government release said.
Besides, to curb the black market of Remdesivir injections, Tope has directed the manufacturers to supply injections directly to government hospitals. For private hospitals, the injections will be supplied through the district collectors. The Health Minister has also ordered to form teams to prevent unnecessary use of the injections in private hospitals.
