Zydus Cadila launches COVID-19 drug Remdesivir in India

New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI) Drug firm Zydus Cadila on Thursday said it has launched Remdesivir under the brand name Remdac, used to treat patients suffering from severe symptoms of COVID-19, in the Indian market.

Priced at Rs 2,800 per 100 mg vial, Remdac is the most economical Remdesivir brand in India, Zydus Cadila said in a regulatory filing.

The company said the drug will be made available across India through the group's strong distribution chain reaching out to government and private hospitals treating COVID-19 patients.

Remdac is the most affordable drug as we would like to enable patients to have access to this critical drug in the treatment of COVID-19, Cadila Healthcare Managing Director Dr Sharvil Patel said.

Through the course of this pandemic, the company's efforts have been focused 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.

In June this year, Zydus 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 authorisation by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) 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.

Zydus Cadila's vaccine candidate ZyCov-D is now in phase II of the clinical trials.

Shares of Cadila Healthcare, the listed entity of the group, were trading at Rs 387 apiece on BSE, 0.44 per cent higher against their previous close.