Remdesivir OK'd in India at $39-52 per dose
Jun. 21, 2020 4:56 PM ETGilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD)GILDBy: Douglas W. House, SA News Editor105 Comments
- India's Controller General has approved generic versions of Gilead Sciences' (NASDAQ:GILD) remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19.
- Two domestic drugmakers, Hyderabad-based Hetero and Mumbai-based Cipla, plan to launch their offerings within a week at Rs 5,000-6,000 ($65-78) and Rs 3,000-4,000 ($39-52), respectively.
- According to current Indian government guidelines, a COVID-19 patient may need five-to-six doses, implying a total treatment cost of the antiviral as low as $195.
- Gilead has yet to announce the price in the U.S. but it's safe to say it will be substantially higher. Drug cost watchdog ICER issued a report last month that the medicine would be cost-effective at $4,500 per course of treatment.
- Update: On Monday, June 22, Cipla announced the market launch of its product, branded as Cipremi.