India Approves Usage of Much-Talked About Remidesivir Drug On Patients With Severe COVID-19 Disease

India on Monday (1 June) cleared the deck for the usage of antiviral drug Remidesivir for treatment of suspected or laboratory-confirmed cases of "severe" COVID-19 disease, reports The Indian Express.

The approval for the injectable drug came from the nation's top drug regulatory authority, Drugs Controller General of India Dr V G Somani. Dr Somani has allowed the drug's administration as a part of a maximum five-day regimen.

This comes as the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) had decided against the extension of the drug's usage to 10 days based on existing evidence. The data is said to have shown that subjecting the patients to 10 days of Remidesivir administration as opposed to five days did not yield any beneficial effect.

Developed and manufactured by United States (US) based Gilead Sciences, the drug will be imported by Mumbai-based Klinera Global Services from the manufacturing sites of Gilead, Jubilant HollisterStier and Patheon Manufacturing Services in the US.

Meanwhile, it should be noted that with the approval in place, the paths have been cleared for the generic voluntary licence holders in the country to manufacture the drug. This gains significance as India is the biggest producer of generic drugs in the world.