Covid 19 medicine in India: Gilead Sciences ties up with Noida-based Jubilant to sell remdesivir

Covid 19 medicine in India: Noida-based Jubilant Life Sciences on Tuesday announced that its subsidiary Jubilant Generics Ltd has entered into a non-exclusive licensing agreement with US-based Gilead Sciences to manufacture and sell anti-viral drug remdesivir, which is under clinical trials globally as a potential treatment of COVID-19 disease.

The pact allows Jubilant to register, manufacture and sell remdesivir in 127 countries, including in India.

"We are very happy to strengthen our partnership with Gilead to license remdesivir, which, based on initial data, shows promise to be a potential therapy for COVID-19, a pandemic creating unprecedented health and economic crisis globally," Shyam S Bhartia, Chairman and Hari S. Bhartia, Co Chairman and Managing Director, Jubilant Life Sciences Limited said in a statement.

Remdesivir is among the top WHO drugs currently under various trials to treat the deadly respiratory disease.

Several additional clinical trials are currently ongoing to generate more data on the safety and efficacy of remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19.

"We will be monitoring the clinical trials and regulatory approvals very closely and would be ready to launch the drug shortly after the required regulatory approvals. We also plan to produce the drug`s Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) in-house helping its cost effectiveness and consistent availability," said Jubilant Life Sciences in a stock exchange filing.

Gilead Sciences said last week that it was negotiating long-term voluntary licences with several generic drugmakers in India and Pakistan to produce experimental antiviral drug remdesivir.

The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an emergency use authorisation for remdesivir in the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan last week said that there is a confusion over the pricing and patent of experimental anti-viral drug remdesivir.

The Health Ministry had recently said that it is examining remdesivir, which was used during the Ebola outbreak, as one protocol in the treatment for Covid-19.

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Gilead said it will provide appropriate technology transfers to facilitate remdesivir production, adding that it is in active discussions with the Medicines Patent Pool to licence remdesivir for developing countries.