COVID-19: Govt To Discontinue Central Allocation Of Remdesivir To States As Supply Of Antiviral Drug Far Exceeds Demand

The government on Saturday (29 May) said that it has decided to discontinue the central allocation of antiviral Remdesivir, which is being used in treatment of Covid-19 patients across the country, to the states as the supply of the drug in the nation has far exceeded the demand.

The production of Remdesivir is ramped up ten times from 33,000 vials per day on 11 April to 3,50,000 vials per day, informed Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday (29 may).

He further informed that the government has also increased the number of plants producing Remdesivir from 20 to 60 within a month.

"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 in a tweet.

The Centre has also decided to procure 50 lakh vials of Remdesivir to maintain it as a strategic stock for the emergency requirement, he added.