Centre approved anti-viral medicines to treat COVID-19 patients\, says SC

Centre approved anti-viral medicines to treat COVID-19 patients, says SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said there was an approval by the Central government on use of Remdesivir and Fabiparivir as medicines to treat COVID-19.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said there was an approval by the Central government on use of Remdesivir and Fabiparivir as medicines to treat COVID-19. The top court was hearing a plea seeking registration of an FIR by the CBI against ten Indian pharmaceutical firms for manufacturing and selling these two medicines for treating COVID-19 patients allegedly without valid licences.

Remdesivir and Favipiravir are antiviral drugs and their efficacy in treating COVID-19 patients have been a matter of debate among medical experts. A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian referred to the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2018 and said these medicines have been permitted by the government for using in treatment of novel coronavirus patients.

"You have not noticed this rule (New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules) and filed this petition. We are adjourning this matter, you see the rules and then come back," the bench told lawyer M Sharma who has filed the PIL. Adjourning the hearing by two weeks, the bench said, "There is approval by the Government of India for Remdesivir and Fabiparivir".

Seeking CBI probe, Sharma had filed the PIL alleging that these two medicines have been wrongly manufactured and sold for treating COVID-19 patients without any valid licences from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation.

"That respondent no.3 to 10 are Indian pharmaceutical company who have signed partnership agreements with foreign companies that are Gilead Science Inc -USA and Fujifilm Japan, to manufacture and sale impugned drug, Remdesivir and Avagin (Favipiravir) in India. Without having a licence, the are manufacturing and selling impugned drugs as a medicine for corona in India," the PIL alleged.

Sharma has sought prosecution of the Indian companies for offences of cheating and criminal conspiracy besides under the provisions of the Drug Act, 1940. The PIL said that these medicines have not been certified as medicines for Covid-19 till date by any country. "They are under trial and no country, including India, have issued licence to manufacture and sale them in the country...," it said.

The companies are manufacturing and selling them at very high rates in India and people are paying that "due to the fear of COVID-19 infection" and are dying, it said.

More than 300 doctors have died in hospitals where these two medicines have been supplied and it amounted to "exploitation of public" due to the fear of death.

Remdesivir was introduced by Gilead Science Inc. USA to treat Ebola Virus in Africa but it was not effective to treat Ebola virus as well, it said. Favipiravir was developed by Fujifilm Toyama Chemical and was actually approved to treat Influenza.

The PIL has made the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation as parties. It has also made 10 pharmaceutical companies including Cipla Ltd, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, Hetero Labs Ltd and Zydus Cadila Healthcare Ltd as parties.

Stressing that there were no effective medicines for the pandemic, the plea said, "the Prime Minister have already initiated process with Russia to import COVID-19 vaccine to manufacture/distribute in India through PSU Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Corporation Limited (BIBCOL)."

Write a comment

Philippines Says Engaging Western Pharma Firms, Despite Duterte Anger

The Philippines continues to negotiate supply deals with a wide range of COVID19 vaccine makers, its health ministry said on Wednesday, despite its president scolding Western firms and saying he wanted Chinese and Russian vaccines.

Last Updated: September 16, 2020, 12:03 PM IST

MANILA: The Philippines continues to negotiate supply deals with a wide range of COVID-19 vaccine makers, its health ministry said on Wednesday, despite its president scolding Western firms and saying he wanted Chinese and Russian vaccines.

The Philippines, which has the most infections and second highest number of deaths in Southeast Asia, is potentially a large market for vaccine makers with its population of 107 million.

“We are still continuously negotiating,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told Reuters in a text message. “No vaccine manufacturers have ‘formally’ asked for pre-payment, though there have been insinuations during the discussions.”

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday lashed out at Western vaccine manufacturers for seeking advance payment or a reservation fee for vaccines that are still under clinical trials.

He pledged to prioritise Russia or China, countries that he frequently praises during his trademark verbal tirades at the West.

His government has talked to a number of potential vaccine suppliers, including those of Russia and China plus U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc. It plans to meet Australian biotech giant CSL Ltd.

A Philippine procurement law forbids payment of goods well ahead of delivery and before a product’s specifications are finalised, putting the country at a disadvantage amid expected high global vaccine demand. The Philippines has recorded nearly 270,000 coronavirus infections and over 4,600 deaths.

In contrast, countries like the United States and the United Kingdom have committed to buy hundreds of millions of doses even as vaccines are still under late-stage trials.

The Philippines has joined a World Health Organization-led vaccine trials and allocation plan and is promoting itself as a site for pharma firms’ phase 3 trials, Vergeire said.

“We are doing all efforts to put us in a position to access these vaccines,” Vergeire told a regular news conference.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Centre approved anti-viral medicines to treat COVID-19 patients\, says SC

Centre approved anti-viral medicines to treat COVID-19 patients, says SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said there was an approval by the Central government on use of Remdesivir and Fabiparivir as medicines to treat COVID-19.

Write a comment

Centre approved anti-viral medicines to treat COVID-19 patients\, says SC

WORLD

Philippines Says Engaging Western Pharma Firms, Despite Duterte Anger

The Philippines continues to negotiate supply deals with a wide range of COVID19 vaccine makers, its health ministry said on Wednesday, despite its president scolding Western firms and saying he wanted Chinese and Russian vaccines.

LIVE TV

Recommended For You

Photogallery