Zydus' 'budget' injection costs 2,800/shot

Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila announced the launch of its anti-viral Remdesivir drug at Rs 2,800 per injection, making it the “most economical” brand in the country.


The move may trigger a

potential price war

in Covid-19 therapy. Zydus’ price of its drug, Remdac, is nearly 50% cheaper than Hetero’s drug at Rs 5,400, which was the first entrant in June. Cipla’s drug costs Rs 4,000, and

Mylan

has priced it at Rs 4,800 per vial. Recently, Jubilant Life Sciences launched it’s version at Rs 4,700 per injection.

Industry experts say a further reduction in prices is expected over the next few weeks, as economies of scale kick in, with higher volumes being manufactured. The reduction, however, may not follow the same trend as the one being witnessed in another potential Covid-19 drug, Favipiravir, where nearly a dozen players have launched affordable versions, they added. This comes at a time when concerns have been raised regarding shortage and “black marketing” of Remdesivir, a problem that has compounded due to rising Covid-19 cases, and only a few doses are available in the market.

A minimum of six vials are required to treat a patient suffering from severe Covid-19 symptoms. “We have been able to launch it at an

economical

price as the entire production is in-house, including the active pharmaceutical ingredient. The production will be at our US-FDA approved plants at Vadodara and Ahmedabad,” a Zydus Cadila official told TOI.

The

manufacturing process

involves “lyophilization” or freeze-drying, which is a complicated and expensive process. Zydus has been able to price the drug lower, possibly because it is doing lyophilization in-house while other firms are outsourcing it. It is probably carrying out certain key manufacturing processes by itself too.

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