HC asks FDA to inform on Tocilizumab availability for uploading on new portal

Nagpur: After the collector’s assurance regarding a centralized portal for Covid-19 patients, the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court flayed the state’s Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) department while reminding its joint commissioner Vijay Kose of its April 13 order of uploading the availability of life-saving drugs on its website.
“We had requested him to place on record his assessment for all drugs, including Tocilizumab, their estimated requirement in each district of Vidarbha till May 31, its current available stock, and whether it’s sufficient to meet the requirement of these drugs till May 31. We had also directed him to place on record the plan made by him for procuring these drugs. These directions are yet to be complied with,” a division bench comprising justices Sunil Shuke and Avinash Gharote said.
While passing a slew of directives, the bench directed FDA to take all the details from the depot manager of Cipla Pharmaceuticals and authorized persons about the receipt of Tocilizumab injections. He was also directed to collect the data from pharmacists to whom these imported injections are supplied from the depot or through the company’s agent.
“This portal, as stated by the collector, is going to be started in a day or two. Therefore, we would remind the joint commissioner to ensure that the details regarding Tocilizumab’s availability with the city pharmacists would also be available on the portal. We would once again direct the joint commissioner to comply with these directives by placing on record a detailed affidavit on record,” the judges said.
Collector starts tendering process for oxy plants at govt hosps
After getting Rs 2.05 crore from WCL, as directed by the HC, collector Ravindra Thakare on Tuesday filed an affidavit stating that the tendering process for installing oxygen plants at GMCH, IGGMCH and AIIMS have been started.
He informed that the process to set up more plants at 16 government hospitals at Kamptee, Narkhed, Bhiwapur and Katol along with eight rural hospitals had also begun from the DPDC and district mining funds. An order to procure 130 ventilators has also been placed with a Vishakhapatnam company for Rs 2.88 crore from the same funds.
Thakare added that from CSR funds to be received from MOIL, oxygen plants would be established at Shalitinitai Meghe, Lata Mangeshkar, National Cancer Institute and Mure Memorial hospitals.
In a meeting held by the chief secretary on April 15, the collector had informed that the former directed all districts to procure 15-200 oxygen concentrators for individual patients and later those would then be kept at the government and municipal hospitals.