Jubilant Generics Ltd. has launched remdesivir for injection under the brand name ‘JUBI-R’ in India for treatment of COVID-19.
Jubilant Generics Ltd., a subsidiary of integrated global pharmaceutical and life sciences company Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd., said the company would make the drug available to over 1,000 hospitals providing COVID-19 treatment in India.
The drug has been priced at ₹4,700 per vial of 100 mg (lyophilized injection). “Jubilant’s 24-hour helpline will enhance access to ‘JUBI-R’ during these pandemic times, where timely access to the drug may prove critical to the treatment outcomes,” said a press statement issued by Jubilant.
To increase accessibility of ‘JUBI-R’ to patients living below the poverty line and to frontline paramedical staff, Jubilant Bhartia Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation of Jubilant Group, is launching unique programmes in India aimed at distribution of the drug, according to the statement.
In May 2020, Jubilant had entered into a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences that granted it the right to register, manufacture and sell Gilead’s investigational drug remdesivir in 127 countries, including India.
“Remdesivir is the only antiviral drug that has received Emergency Use Authorization by the USFDA for treatment of suspected or laboratory confirmed COVID-19 in adults and children hospitalised with severe disease,” the statement said.
Jubilant received approval from the Drug Controller General of India on July 20, 2020 to manufacture and market the investigational anti-viral drug remdesivir (JUBI-R) for 100 mg/vial (lyophilized injection) for restricted emergency use in India for treatment of severe COVID-19. ‘JUBI-R’ will require to be administered intravenously in a hospital setting under the supervision of a medical practitioner, according to the statement.
“It gives us immense satisfaction to launch ‘JUBI-R’ as this drug has the potential to save precious lives across the globe”, said Jubilant Pharma Ltd.’s chairman and managing director Shyam S. Bhartia and co-chairman Hari S. Bhartia in a joint statement. “The company’s ability to launch the product in such short timelines highlights our R&D and manufacturing capabilities and our continued commitment to provide leading healthcare solutions. Through Jubilant Bhartia Foundation, we will distribute the drug on compassionate basis to save precious lives of people through unique programmes,” the statement added.
Jubilant’s pharmaceutical plant in Nanjangud, near Mysuru, was temporarily closed for almost two-and-a-half months from March this year after some employees of the company tested positive for COVID-19.