A ray of hope for patients

When there was no effective drug to treat Covid-19 patients in the country, anti-viral generic drug Remdesivir, brought by Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Ltd, offers a ray of hope, Dr ABM Abdullah, personal physician of the prime minister, said at a discussion yesterday.

In this context, speakers in the discussion urged the drug regulatory authority to complete the necessary testing and, after being satisfied, issue the marketing authorisation as per the procedure as early as possible so that presently ailing patients can get the benefit of the drug.

Noted medicine specialists and physicians participated in the event, jointly organised by Bangladesh Society of Medicine (BSM) and the Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Ltd, at a city hotel.

"They [Eskayef] have done a great job and I thank them. This is a very good and time-befitting medicine," said Prof ABM Abdullah.

"I thought it might take six months to get the drug in Bangladesh, as it was recently approved in the United Sates. It is a very good initiative that you [Eskayef] are going to supply the drug in the local market."

He urged the Eskayef Pharmaceuticals authorities to take all initiative to make the drug available in the local market immediately.

Earlier, Dr Robed Amin, a professor of medicine at Dhaka Medical College, talked about the novel coronavirus, and the evolution of the new drug Remdesivir, its application, efficacy and limitation.

"Despite some adverse effects, Remdesivir still has some efficacy," he said, adding that this anti-viral drug is useful in reducing hospital stay of patients.

In his presentation, he spoke of the outcome of different scientific studies on the efficacy of Remdesivir in different countries, including the US and China

"Thanks to Eskayef for introducing the drug," Prof Robed said.

"[Although] there has been much debate about mortality and other issues, it is still a promising drug.

"The World Health Organization is conducting solidarity trial of five types of anti-viral drugs… Bangladesh has a scope for taking this trial."

Following his presentation, an audio-visual documentary on the drug production plants of Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Ltd was shown.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof Khan Abul Kalam Azad, principal of Dhaka Medical College, said, "When there is complete darkness, Eskayef has come forward to find a solution… Definitely it will pave the way..."

This drug needs to be used keeping in mind the effects it may have on Covid-19 patients, he pointed out.

Medicine specialist Prof FM Siddiqui said, "There was no medicine to say specifically that it is working… As you have seen Remdesivir is working on RNA virus [the novel coronavirus], it is assumed that as time will go by, there will be other medicine which will jointly work."

He suggested formulating national guidelines on the use of Remdesivir.

"We should start using Remdesivir," Prof Siddiqui said.

"I just can't believe how they made it happen within a very short time. I thank them [Eskaye] for bringing this very important drug in the market so quickly," he added.

In her closing speech, Simeen Hossain, chief executive officer of Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Ltd, said, "Since the beginning of the outbreak of Covid-19, Eskayef has worked closely with Bangladesh Society of Medicine and the DGDA regarding the introduction of possible treatment,especially Remdesivir, to combat the pandemic.

"That is why soon after the emergency use authorization from the US FDA, Eskayef started to work to introduce Remdesivir for the people of Bangladesh having maintained each and every manufacturing protocols and after completing all regulatory guideline and procedure from DGDA.

"We have manufactured Remdesivir in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility which is approved by UK-MHRA, DG-Australia, EMAU and many other stringent global regulatory authorities," she mentioned.

She thanked the government and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for taking all proactive initiatives to fight the pandemic.

Simeen also expressed gratitude to all healthcare professionals for coming forward during this crisis of the nation.

Moderated by BSM General Secretary Prof Ahmedul Kabir, the event was attended by, among others, Prof Billal Alam, Prof MA Jalil Chowdhury, Prof Shamol Sarker, Prof Dilip Kumar Nath, Prof Abdur Rahim, Prof MA Kashem, Dr MA Sattar, Dr Murad Hossain and Dr Asim Chakrabarty.