Drug firm Cadila Healthcare on Wednesday said Zydus has reduced the price of Remidisivir, used for treatment of COVID-19, by over two-third. Zydus has made its brand of Remdesivir, Remdac more affordable at Rs 899 for a 100 mg lyophilized injection from Rs 2,800 at the time of its launch in August last year, the company said in an exchange filing.
Remdac continues to be India's most economical brand of Remdesivir and a critical drug in the treatment of COVID-19. This move to further revise the prices will go a long way in helping patients during these critical times, the company said.
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Zydus had entered into a non-exclusive agreement with Gilead Sciences Inc. in June last year to manufacture and sell Remdesivir, the investigational drug, which has been issued an Emergency Use Authorisation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients suffering from severe symptoms of COVID-19.
The API for the drug has been developed and manufactured at the group's API manufacturing facilities in Gujarat, it said.
Commenting on the price cut, Cadila Healthcare Managing Director Sharvil Patel said, "Through the course of this pandemic, our efforts have been focused on making therapies accessible and affordable to people. Remdac has been one of the critical drugs in the disease management on COVID and we hope that this price cut will enable people from every strata of the society to access this critical drug."
Shares of Cadila Healthcare were trading 0.32 per cent higher at Rs 432.45 on the BSE in the afternoon trade on Wednesday.
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