Coronavirus treatment in India: Hetero Pharma starts supplying generic version of Remdesivir to states! Scientists all over the world have been looking for treatments for COVID-19, which has wreaked havoc globally. Amidst this, several studies have found that anti-viral drug Remdesivir could be used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. On Wednesday, Indian generic pharmaceutical giant Hetero announced that it was all set to deliver as many as 20,000 vials of ‘Covifor’, its generic version of Remdesivir, all over the country, and reported that the supply of the drug has commenced.

The company has priced the drug at Rs 5,400 per vial.

Last week, Hetero had announced that it was granted manufacturing and marketing approval for its generic drug from the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI), which is the nodal agency in India to grant licences of medicinal drugs.

Hetero said that it would supply 20,000 vials in two lots of 10,000 vials each and one of those lots would be immediately sent to hotspots like Hyderabad, Gujarat, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra. Apart from this, the second batch would be dispatched within a week to Patna, Bhubaneshwar, Ranchi, Kolkata, Bhopal, Indore, Lucknow, Goa, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Vijayawada.

In its statement released on Wednesday, Hetero said that it would supply 20,000 vials in two lots of 10,000 vials each and one of those lots would be immediately sent to hotspots like Hyderabad, Gujarat, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra. Apart from this, the second batch would be dispatched within a week to Patna, Bhubaneshwar, Ranchi, Kolkata, Bhopal, Indore, Lucknow, Goa, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Vijayawada.

The statement quoted Hetero Group of Companies Managing Director Dr M Srinivasa Reddy as saying that through this drug, the company hopes to reduce the time it takes to treat a COVID-19 patient in a hospital, so that the mounting pressure on the medical authorities could be reduced. He added that the company is working with health authorities and the governments to make the drug accessible to healthcare institutions across India as soon as possible.

As per the company statement, Covifor would be available in injectable vials of 100 mg. The drug would be administered intravenously, it said, and must be done in a hospital, or a critical care setting by a medical practitioner.