Mylan's remdesivir to cost Rs 4,800 per 100 mg vial in India, 80% cheaper than price tag in wealthy nations

Bengaluru: Mylan NV said on Monday it would launch a generic version of Gilead Sciences Inc’s COVID-19 antiviral remdesivir in India at Rs 4,800 ($64.31), about 80 percent below the price tag on the drug for wealthy nations. California-based Gilead has signed licensing deals with several generic drugmakers in an effort to make remdesivir available in 127 developing countries. Last month, two Indian drugmakers, Cipla Ltd and privately-held Hetero Labs Ltd, also launched generic versions of the treatment. Cipla will price its version, Cipremi, at less than Rs 5,000, while Hetero has priced Covifor at Rs 5,400. Gilead, last week, priced remdesivir at $2,340 per patient for rich nations and agreed to send nearly all of its supply of the drug to the United States over the next three months. Mylan’s price was for 100 mg vials, but it was not immediately clear how many of those vials would be required for a full treatment course. Gilead has said for a five-day treatment course, a patient would need six vials of remdesivir. Remdesivir is in high demand after the intravenously-administered medicine helped to shorten hospital recovery times in a clinical trial but there has been concerns over its supply. Mylan said it would manufacture remdesivir in India at its injectables facilities and was working toward expanding access for patients in the 127 low- and middle-income countries where it is licensed by Gilead Sciences to do so. The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approved Mylan’s remdesivir version, to be called Desrem, for the treatment of suspected or laboratory confirmed severe incidences of COVID-19 in adults and children, the company said in a statement. India is the world’s third worst hit nation, with the number of coronavirus cases surging to 697,413 on Monday.