Remdesivir treatment gains popularity in India, black marketing and price cuts to continue: GlobalData
According to figures compiled by the CDSCO, India will be producing 20,000 vials per day by the end of July.
Remdesivir has emerged as the most sought-after drug for the treatment of moderate to severe COVID-19 in the country. Amid the increasing demand, it has become a hot topic for discussions related to drug shortages, black marketing and price cuts. The trend is expected to continue for a while before normalcy is restored, says GlobalData, data analytics and research company.
Hetero is the first company to launch remdesivir in India at Rs 5,400 ($72) per vial. However, the price cut trend was initiated with Mylan’s launch of Desrem at Rs 4,800 ($64), followed by the launch of Cipla’s Cipremi at Rs 4,000 ($53.4). Multiple Indian manufacturers such as Jubilant, Dr Reddy’s, Zydus Cadila and BDR Pharmaceuticals are in the process of seeking approval for generic remdesivir in India. Following their regulatory approvals, we can see further drops in remdesivir’s prices.
Prashant Khadayate, Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, comments, “The trend of price cuts by the new entrants will continue as the market potential is high not only domestically but for exports to more than 100 countries. Companies are trying to focus on the volume opportunity so that they can leverage price-cuts. In addition, a majority of the orders are supplied to government organizations and pricing does play a key role in getting these orders.”
There are cases observed in India where remdesivir is being black marketed at a very high