'Remdesivir', one of the most promising treatments for Covid-19 developed by Gilead Sciences, will possibly cost Tk 5000-6000 per vial at the country level, according to several pharmaceutical officials.
Earlier on Sunday, the Directorarte Genereal of Drug Administration (DGDA) permitted several companies to manufacture this medicine. The companies are Beximco, SK-F, Incepta, Square, Beacon, Healthcare, Acme and Popular Pharmaceuticals.
In the meantime, the work of Beximco and SK-F has come a long way. Of those, drug produced by Eskayef (SK-F) is expected to hit the market by the 18th this month and the other may release the drug within this month, according to a source at the DGDA.
However, BBC says, there are questions about the affordability of these drugs produced in Bangladesh.
According to an SKF official, the price of each vial of the drug in Bangladesh can be between Tk 5,000 and Tk 6,000.
Mohammad Mujahidul Islam, director of marketing and sales at SKF, told BBC, for patients with severe conditions, the United States Pharmaceutical Authority approved the drug for five days and ten days. A ten-day course will be recommended, if patients don't recover within five days. For those who will be treated for five days, 6 vials of remedisivir will be required, and for those who will be treated for ten days, 11 vials will be required.
The price of each vial will be between 5 to 6 thousand taka in Bangladeshi currency. In other words, those who will take treatment for five days will have to spend 30 to 35 thousand taka to buy remedicative medicine. And those who will take treatment for ten days will have to spend about 60 thousand taka, he added.
The drug administration says it will not intervene to control the price of remedisivir.
Mahbubur Rahman, director general of the DGDA, said despite the initial plan to supply the drug only to government hospitals, they decided to allow marketing at the private level as well.
He said, ‘Since this medicine will be needed in different places, if it is provided in a limited range, many people may not get the medicine. So we are approving its marketing. '
However, he said the drug would be marketed on the condition that it should not be sold without the advice of a specialist.
He added, "We have suggested that the drug be marketed officially. However, this does not mean that it cannot be given privately. Regularly these drugs will be released on the market. Government as well as non-government organizations will be able to provide it. However, it will not be available to buy retail in pharmacies.
Meanwhile, since Remedisivir will be a very high priced drug, there are concerns about whether it will be within the purchasing power of most people in Bangladesh. Although the government has not taken any steps to control the price of remedicivir in Bangladesh, the Director General of the Department of Drug Administration has indicated that the price may be lower in government hospitals.
Mahbubur Rahman said, ‘Pharmaceutical companies in government hospitals announce the proposed price when selling products. At that time, if an organization wants a lower price, then the price of medicine will come down. However, the administration will not interfere in determining the price of medicines.
The patent for the drug is from Gilead Sciences, a US-based biopharmaceutical company. But as the name is in the list of least developed countries of the United Nations, according to the international trade policy, the ban on the manufacture of these drugs will not apply to Bangladesh.
/dn/teb
