Zydus launches cheapest remdesivir at Rs 2,800 per 100 mg vial in India

Potential Covid-19 treatment drug launched under brand name Remdac in India

Pharma major Cadila Healthcare (Zydus Cadila) on Thursday announced launch of what is so far India's cheapest remdesivir brand - Remdac at Rs 2800 per 100 mg lyophilized injection vial. 

The will be made available across India through the group’s strong distribution chain reaching out to government and private hospitals treating Covid patients.

According to Sharvil Patel, managing director of Cadila Healthcare, as the most affordable remdesivir brand, Remdac will enable patients ot have access to the critical drug in treatment of Covid-19. 

"Through the course of this pandemic, our efforts have been focussed on supporting people in this healthcare crisis, whether it is through developing vaccines, ramping up production and distribution of critical drugs and therapies, making diagnostic tests available or exploring new treatment options,"” Patel added.

Earlier, in June 2020, Zydus Cadila had entered into a non-exclusive agreement with Gilead Sciences Inc., to manufacture and sell Remdesivir, the investigational drug, which has been issued an Emergency Use Authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients suffering from severe symptoms of Covid 19. The active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for the drug has been developed and manufactured at the group’s API manufacturing facilities in Gujarat.

Apart from rolling out Remdac, Zydus group has been engaged in other efforts to the fight the pandemic with vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.  On one hand, the group had ramped up production of HCQ and Dexamethasone when required and is also conducting clinical trials with Pegylated Interferon Alpha 2b and Desidustat for the treatment and management of Covid 19. Nearly 300,000 Covid Kavach Elisa diagnostic tests have been supplied for surveillance. 

Meanwhile, the group’s plasmid DNA vaccine ZyCoV-D is now in Phase II of the Adaptive Phase I&II clinical trials and has been one of the forerunners of vaccine development in India.