Over 5.7 lakh black fungus drug vials will be available in June, says Centre as mucormycosis emerges as grave threat

The per-month availability will also go up as 11 manufacturers, including an importer, are now working towards increasing the supply of the drug in the country.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday talked about mucormycosis and how it is emerging as a new challenge, the Centre said it has taken a slew of measures to ensure mucormycosis medicine Amphotericin-B is available in the country adequately. Be it ramping up the capacity of the existing manufacturers or allowing new manufacturers or enabling the import of the drug, the Centre is on its toes, it said. As a result of this "whole of government" approach, around 5.7 lakh Amphotericin-B vials will be available in the country in June. The per-month availability will also go up as 11 manufacturers, including an importer, are now working towards increasing the supply of the drug in the country.

A doctor checks a man who recovered from Covid-19 and now infected with black fungus at the Mucormycosis ward of a government hospital in Hyderabad. (AP)

Black fungus: Here is a list of states with highest number of mucormycosis cases

Mucormycosis is a fungal infection reported among Covid-19 patients, who have a high blood sugar level. Though the fungal infection is not a new occurrence, the number of cases has seen an unprecedented rise in India amid the ongoing second wave of the pandemic. The shortage of Amphotericin-B has added to the crisis, while prompted by the Centre, states and Union territories have now started notifying under the epidemic act. Separate wards, facilities are being brought in place to exclusively treat this fungal infection.

Bharat Serums & Vaccines Ltd, BDR Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Sun Pharma Ltd, Cipla Ltd, Life Care Innovations are the five existing manufacturers, while Mylan Labs is an importer of Amphotericin-B drug. To this, five more manufacturers have been added, including NATCO Pharmaceuticals, Hyderabad, Alembic Pharmaceuticals, Vadodara, Gufic Biosciences Ltd, Gujarat, Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Pune and Lyka, Gujarat.

Month-wise Amphotericin-B availability in numbers

> Around 3,63,000 vials of Amphotericin-B are being imported in May.

> In May, 5,26752 vials of the black fungus drug will be made available, including domestic production.

> In June, 3,15,000 vials will be imported.

> The total availability of Amphotericin-B in June will be 5,70,114, including domestic production.

> The manufacturers which have received new licences for the production of Amphotericin-B will produce 1,11,000 vials of Amphotericin-B per month from July 2021.