Nagpur: District collector Ravindra Thakare on April 9 issued an order, referring to an earlier notification issued by state public health department, directed the stakeholders not to charge more than 10% of the cost price for Remdesivir injection.
Mentioning the substantial number of complaints related to rates and shortage of Remdesivir, Thakare stated the need of the hour os to make contingency plans for proper supply of the injection to the patients.
“The maximum retail price (MRP) comes under the purview of the central government. Except for two brands, rates of the other brands are on the higher side. We have now made an appeal to ensure not more than 10% should be charged above the cost price, leaving it to the conscious of the sellers viewing the pandemic crisis,” he said.
“We may also shortly display rates of the Remdesivir brands on the website. The patients and their kin must know the rates of Remdesivir and refuse to pay if the rate is more than the prescribed one,” he said.
Despite the collector’s notification and appeal, TOI has learnt that many customers had to pay higher price for Remdesivir after hospitals claimed to be running short of stocks even for their indoor patients.
On Sunday, the shortage continued in city with stockists and distributors waiting for the consignments to reach them till late evening.
Collector Thakare also stated that he would soon issue an order prohibiting the Covid hospitals from asking the patients and their kin to arrange for Remdesivir injections from outside other than in house pharmacies.
In the latest initiative,Thakare had teamed up with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) president Dr Archana Kothari, Vidarbha Hospital Association (VHA) convener Dr Anup Marar and other senior doctors to make an appeal to the both medical fraternity and public for controlled and regulated use of Remdesivir.
Thakare mentioned that the patients of only ‘E’ and ‘F’ categories with certain severity, as per the guidelines of the state-level task force for Covid-19 management and that of the Indian Medical Council and Research (ICMR) should be administered Remdesivir.
Dr Kothari has made an appeal to patients to keep faith on their doctors and not make a demand for Remdesivir. Dr Marar warned of adverse effects and reactions of Remdesivir if not taken under the supervision of clinical experts.
In yet another development, mayor Dayashankar Tiwari too made an appeal to the NMC to arrange for 5,000 vials of Remdesivir immediately.