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Drugs’ shortage continues, but FDA hopes to regularise supply
FDA had brought in a three-point check to ensure that city hospitals do not hoard the drugs and the needy patients get it on time
Despite a rising number of Covid-19 cases in Pune, the city is reporting a shortage of essential drugs including Anti-viral drug remdesivir and tocilizumab (a drug that modifies the immune system or its functioning), itolizumab and favipiravir all of which are used for critical patients or those with moderate symptoms. The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Pune division has made a list of all the registered suppliers of these drugs and brought in a three-point check to ensure that city hospitals do not hoard the drugs and the needy patients get it on time.
As of Friday, there are 666 critical patients among 1,530 active cases in the district.
The FDA issued a list of 23 registered suppliers of these drugs for the entire Pune division of which 10 are in Pune district. One of the distributors, Girish Lunavat from Prakash Medical Centre, said, “We are facing a shortage of essential drugs mainly remdesivir and tocilizumab. The demand is huge and rising, but the supply is not regular. We give full advance payment, but still the supply is not consistent. Only if the production increases will the supply become smooth. However, we have been assured by the company that by next week, the shortage of both these drugs will be fulfilled.”
SB Patil, FDA joint commissioner (drugs) Pune division, said, “There is a shortage, but we will regularise the supply by the end of this month. However, we have also seen that doctors are prescribing these drugs to even those who are in home isolation whereas these drugs are for those who are hospitalized and are critical. We get around 400 vials of remdesivir and 100 vials of tocilizumab every day, but the demand is high.”
Patil further said that to ensure that the drug reaches the right patient for every vial the hospital/distributor has to provide the hospital’s admission card, patients’ identity proof, relative’s identity proof who has come to buy the drug and Covid-19 report.
He said, “The drugs are supplied either through distributors to individuals or to the hospital’s medical store. The same documents have to be provided. Each hospital has to provide a daily report of the opening balance of drugs, closing balance and details of the patients who have been administered with the drugs. We also keep a three-way check at the company’s depot, distributor level and the hospital level to ensure that the drugs are not kept away from needy patients.”
Patil further added that by next week the supply will be regularised as about 20 per cent of the drugs which the state will receive will be diverted for Pune.
Remdesivir is the only drug approved by the United States food and drug administration for treating Covid-19 patients. While tocilizumab is still imported, remdesivir has now been certified to be manufactured by two Indian companies Cipla and Hetero Drugs.
Families of Covid-19 patients and doctors have said that generic brands of remdesivir and tocilizumab are in short supply in Mumbai too. However, stocks of remdesivir and tocilizumab are likely to improve from next week, according to manufacturing companies and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Hetero Healthcare on Friday announced that it will distribute 60,000 units of the Covifor injection, which is its generic brand of remdesivir, across the country between July 13 and July 20.
Of these, 12,500 units will be distributed in Maharashtra. Cipla, the other company permitted to manufacture the drug, started production of CIPEMI (remdesivir) on Monday. Around 80,000 vials will be available within the first month, said Nikhil Chopra, executive vice president and chief executive officer (India, business), Cipla.
