Production of anti-Covid drugs ramped up in May

The Union ministry of chemicals and fertilisers has said that production of essential Covid-19 drugs is being ramped up in the country and availability of drugs is also being augmented through imports. Minister of state Mansukh Mandaviya said on Wednesday that the government was monitoring supply of each Covid essential drugs like Remdesivir, Enoxaparin, Methyl Prednisolone, Dexamethasone, Tocilizumab, Ivermectin and non-protocol drugs, including Favipiravir, Amphotericin and Apixaban. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation and the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority were coordinating with manufacturers to enhance production and getting data about current stock, current capacities and projected production for the May 2021, he said.

The number of plants producing Remdesivir increased from 20 to 60, resulting in three times more availability in 25 days while production was ramped up 10 times from 10 lakh vials a month in April 2021 to nearly one crore vials a month in May 2021, a ministry release said.

Import of the Toscilizumab injection had gone up 20 times from the normal times. Production of dexamethasone 0.5 mg tablets enhanced six to eight within a month while enoxaparin injection production increased four times in a month. The Ivermectin 12 mg tab production was enhanced by five times in a month from 1.50 crore in April to 7.70 crore in May 2021. Methyl prednisolone injection production increased almost three times in a months time.

The non-protocol drug Favirpiravir, used to lower the virus load, has seen quadrupling of production from 3.26 crore in April 2021 to 16.44 crore in May 2021. The amphoterecin B injection production has trebled from 3.80 lakh vials are currently in production and another three lakh vials are being imported so a total 6.80 lakh vials will be available in the country.