The Government of India will import 450,000 vials of the vital drug Remdesivir to ease out shortage of Remdesivir in the country. 

The Government of India has started importing the vital drug Remdesivir from other countries to ease the shortage of Remdesivir in the country. The first consignment of 75,000 vials will reach India today.

HLL Lifecare Ltd., a Government of India owned company has ordered 450,000 vials of Remdesivir from Gilead Sciences Inc. and Egyptian Pharma Company, Eva Pharma. It is expected that Gilead Sciences Inc. will dispatch 75,000 to 100,00 vials in the next one or two days. Further 100,000 quantities will also be supplied before or by May 15 2021. EVA pharma will supply approximately 10,000 vials initially followed by 50,000 vials every 15 days till July 2021.

On the other hand the government has also ramped up the production capacity of Remdesivir in the country. As on 27.04.21, the production capacity of the seven licensed domestic manufacturers increased from 38 lakh vials per month to 1.03 crore vials per month. Total 13.73 lakh vials have been supplied across the country by the drug companies in the last seven days (21-28 April, 2021).

The daily supply has gone up from 67,900 vials on 11th April to 2.09 lakh vials on 28th April, 2021. An advisory was issued by MHA to states and UTs to facilitate smooth movement of Remdesivir supplies.

Government also prohibited the export of Remdesivir to enhance its availability in India. To ensure affordability of the injection among the masses, NPPA on April 17, 2021 released the revised maximum retail price thus bringing down the cost of all the major brands to below Rs 3,500 per vial.

In order to facilitate higher production and availability of Remdesivir, the Department of Revenue vide Notification 27/2021-Customs dated 20th April exempted the whole of the duty of Customs on Remdesivir injection, its API and Beta cyclodextrin used in manufacture of Remdesivir, till 31st October 2021.