US hoarding all Covid-19 medicines, India should give compulsory licence for generic Remdesivir: CPI(M)

Accusing the United States of "hoarding all drugs found to be useful" in combating Covid-19, the CPI(M) has asked the Centre to immediately invoke provisions in the Patent Act to issue compulsory license to Indian pharma companies to manufacture generic version of 'Remdesivir' that is found to be useful in tackling the virus infection.

The party said Gilead Sciences’ anti-viral drug Remdesivir has shown efficacy in treating Covid-19 patients while media reports indicated that the US has bought the entire stock of medicine from Gilead for the next three months.

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"It will therefore not be available for the rest of the world," the CPI(M) said in a statement.

The price of Remdesivir is $3,000 or Rs 2.25 lakhs for a five-day course in the US and five Indian companies are in negotiations for manufacturing the drug under Gilead’s license. Remdesivir will be sold at a "concessional" price of $400 or Rs 30,000-35,000 for the same five-day course after it is manufactured in India, it said.

The CPI(M) claimed that the cost of manufacturing Remdesivir for a full course is less than $10 or Rs 750 in the US and about Rs 100 in India.

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“Gilead, by virtue of its patent monopoly, is holding the world to ransom by asking a price that is hundreds of times its cost," the CPI(M) said, warning that Indian patients will either not get the drug, or if it is available, find the cost prohibitive, as the US is buying up the entire stock of Gilead and due to the high cost due to its patent monopoly.

Under Clause 92 of India’s Patent Act, it said, India has the right to issue a compulsory license to manufacture the drug in the country and Indian generic drug manufacturers have the ability and the will to manufacture the generic Remdesivir version.

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"Given Gilead’s extortionate price for Remdesivir, the government should immediately issue compulsory license to a number of Indian manufacturers. Given that India is one of the largest generic drug manufacturers in the world, there should be no reason why this drug cannot be made available rapidly and at affordable prices to the Indian people," it added.