NE LEGAL BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, MAY 24
The Remdesivir market had stabilised considerably in the country due to enhanced supply, judicious use and a decrease in active cases in many states, the Union government told Gujarat High Court on Monday.
In its reply to the court in a suo motu PIL on issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Central government said Gujarat has been allocated 5.10 lakh doses of Remdesivir, a drug used to treat critical COVID-19 patients, between April 21 and May 23, or 6.71 percent of the allocation, ‘which compares well with the share of Gujarat in active COVID-19 cases in the country during that period.’
“The market of Remdesivir has stabilised considerably. Companies are informing the government they have lesser pending purchase orders from states. This situation has improved because of enhanced supplies as well as greater awareness about the need for judicious use of drugs. The supplies also reflect the decrease in caseload in many states,” it said.
The Centre said production capacity of licenced manufacturers of Remdesivir had now increased to 119 lakh vials per month compared to 38 lakh at the end of March this year.
The Centre further said it is making allocation of available stocks on a dynamic basis to ensure equitable distribution of limited stocks across all states, which will not be required once the ‘supply-demand balance is achieved.’ ‘Being a dynamic allocation, and based on representations and feedback received from the states, the allocation criteria are now based more on the active caseload of the states and the trend of the disease, though earlier the share of oxygen allocation was also considered,’ it said.
Further, as the share of active cases in the country changes among states, their requirement of Remdesivir also changes and this is reflected in the allocations, it added.
In a hearing last week, the High Court had said there appeared to be a lack of coordination between the Gujarat and Union governments on Remdesivir allocation.
In its reply on Monday, the Centre said when the demand for the injection increased suddenly, it asked seven domestic licensed manufacturers to ramp up production quickly, and as an interim measure, decided to allocate the supplies among states while supply-demand gap persisted.
