In letter dated April 27 to states, Joint Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Navdeep Rinwa Aand Rajiv Wadhawan wrote, "The drug went out of stock in the country a few weeks ago due to a sudden surge in its demand because of a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in the country in this month." 

They further wrote that fresh limited stock of this drug has now been imported and is available with the lone marketer company Cipla Limited for marketing and distribution in the country. 

"An interim allocation of this drug among states has been finalized jointly by the Union Health Ministry and Department of Pharmaceuticals in consultation with the company," the letter said. 

It also mentioned that the allocated stocks have been sent or are being sent to the Cipla depots in the respective states and are placed at the disposal of the states for allocation to Government and Private hospitals in the state. 

"No separate allocation is being sent to private hospitals. The states are advised to ensure that these limited stocks are used judiciously and strictly as per the standard treatment protocol issued by Joint Monitoring Group of Union Health Ministry," the letter said. 

The company has been directed to issue allocated stocks strictly as per the guidance of concerned state governments. The allocation is interim and would be reviewed shortly. 

Allocation of Tocilizumab are made to Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab and Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Central Institution. 

The letter pointed out that Tocilizumab, an imported drug, manufactured by Roche, is being prescribed for treatment of some Covid-19 patients under certain conditions.