Centre discontinues Remdesivir allocation to states, says supply much more than demand

Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday said the supply of Remdesivir exceeds the demand and the Centre has decided to stop the centralised allocation of the anti-viral drug, used in the treatment of COVID-19, to states.In a series of tweets Mandaviya said the production of remdesivir has been increased ten times from just around 33,000 vials per day on 11 April to around 3,50,000 vials per day as of today. "We have also increased the number of plants producing Remdesivir from just 20 to 60 plants within a month," the minister said."Now the country has enough Remdesivir as the supply is much more than the demand. So we have decided to DISCONTINUE the Central Allocation of Remdesivir to States," Mandaviya said.Mandaviya further said he has directed the National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Agency (NPPA) and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) continuously monitor the availability of the drug in the country"The Government of India has also decided to procure 50 lakh vials of Remdesivir to maintain it as a strategic stock for the emergency requirement," he added.The Centre had last month banned the export of the anti-viral injection and its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) "till the situation improves", observing that a surge in cases had led to a sudden spike in the demand for the drug. It had also waived customs duty on Remdesivir, its raw materials and other components used to make the drug.India on Saturday recorded  1,73,790 new coronavirus cases, the lowest in last 45 days, taking the total count of COVID-19 cases to 2,77,29,247, according to the Union health ministry's data. The toll rose to 3,22,512 with 3,617 daily deathsWith inputs from PTI