Gujarat-based pharmaceutical company Zydus Cadila on Thursday announced the launch of what it said was the cheapest generic version of anti-viral drug remdesivir for Covid-19 treatment in India. One 100 gram vial of the medicine will cost Rs 2,800.
“Priced at Rs 2800 for a 100 mg lyophilized injection, RemdacTM is the most economical Remdesivir brand in India,” the company said in a statement.
In June, Zydus Cadila had signed an agreement with American biotechnology company Gilead Sciences to produce and sell remdesivir in India. Zydus Cadila is the fifth Indian firm after Hetero Labs, Cipla, Mylan NV and Jubilant Life Sciences to produce a version of the anti-viral drug. Hetero Labs had priced its version of remdesivir at Rs 5,400 per vial.
Zydus Cadila’s version of the medicine, called Remdac, will be supplied to hospitals treating coronavirus patients across the country, the company said in a press release.
The pharmaceutical company is also conducting clinical trials of its coronavirus vaccine candidate. Earlier this month, Zydus Cadila said that its vaccine was found to be safe, immunogenic, and well-tolerated in an early-stage human trial. The company had laid out its plan to complete late-stage trials for the vaccine by February or March and produce up to 100 million [10 crore] doses a year initially.
India’s coronavirus count reached 23,96,637 on Thursday morning as the country reported nearly 67,000 new cases in 24 hours. Over 900 more deaths pushed India’s toll to 47,033. The number of recoveries rose to 16,95,982.
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