Potential Covid-19 Drug: 6 local pharmas set to produce remdesivir
Six local drug makers are set to produce the experimental antiviral drug remdesivir, which has shown promise in fighting the new coronavirus, from this month.
Beximco, Eskayef (SK-F), Incepta, Beacon, Healthcare and Square got the permission to produce Remdesivir, a drug developed by American biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences.
The injection, which was previously developed to treat the Ebola virus but did not work, has grabbed attention as one of the most promising treatments for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus that has killed more than 250,000 people.
Its potential to help COVID-19 patients is based on the ability to disable the mechanism by which certain viruses, including the new coronavirus, replicate themselves and potentially overwhelm their host's immune system.
The US drug authorities granted emergency use authorisation last week, paving the way for its broader use in American hospitals after Gilead provided data showing the drug had helped COVID-19 patients.
Of the six companies, Beximco and Eskayef are in the advanced stage with their preparation, The Daily Star has learnt after speaking with the drug makers.
"This is the generic version of Gilead's drug," said Mohammad Mujahidul Islam, director of marketing & sales at Eskayef.
Gilead has a patent on remdesivir, which means it has exclusive rights to make it. But, international trade rules allow nations defined by the United Nations as least-developed countries, including Bangladesh, to ignore such patents and make drugs more affordable in those markets.
"We are very close to completing the development process, so we are confident of launching it this month," Islam said.
Eskayef started work on the product straight after getting the approval in March.
"As it is a complex injection, it needs to pass through some hoops. So, we started to work on it very early."
The injection would be available in the government-authorised hospitals, he added.
"We have completed the first stage of taking approval of medicine from the government and now we are in the second stage," said Rabbur Reza, chief operating officer of Beximco Pharmaceuticals.
In the second stage, the drug makers need to work in the laboratory to see whether their medicine's physical attributes are identical to remdesivir.
"Our our scientists are working round-the-clock, so we hope to launch the product within the month," he added.
Incepta is testing whether all the process of producing the product is okay, said Md Mizanur Rahman, deputy general manager of its marketing and strategy department.
"We are getting positive results. We are on the right track. We might be able to launch the medicine very soon."
Asked about the pricing of the drug, he said: "This is an expensive product."
The price would be between Tk 5,000 and Tk 5,500 and a patient may need to use 6 to 11 vials, he added.
Incepta's pricing is the first indication of how the drug will be priced. Gilead is yet to announce its pricing; it has donated an initial batch of 1.5 million vials to help patients in the US.
Md. Ebadul Karim, managing director of Beacon Pharmaceuticals, said the drug maker is working on producing remdeivir.
"But we can't say the exact date of launch," he added.
Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, executive director of Square Pharmaceuticals, declined to speak on the matter.
Remdesivir gives a better result in recovery but a narrow result in survival benefits, said Md Mujibur Rahman, head of Dhaka Medical College's medicine department.
"The injection is not a magic bullet but it might aid in recovery from COVID-19," he added.
Data from a trial by the US's National Institutes of Health showed remdesivir reduced hospitalisation stays by 31 percent compared to a placebo treatment, but did not significantly improve survival.
Bangladesh has so far reported 11,719 cases and 186 deaths from the disease, although some experts say the number of cases could be much higher given limited testing in the country.
Comments