Hyderabad: IT and industries minister KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Wednesday said that about four lakh injections of Remdesivir will be ready in a week’s time at government hospitals in the state. His statement comes at a time when there is a sharp rise in demand for the drug from families of COVID-19 patients. The drug is also being sold in black at exorbitant prices by medical show owners to cash in on the shortage.
KTR, in a statement, said that as government hospitals are in need of this injection, he spoke to the concerned pharma companies in the city, and that the the talks between both him and pharma companies bore positive results. The latter have agreed to roll out adequate stocks of Remdesivir injections to cater to the needs of government hospitals. “We will supply them to all government hospitals to offer to people,” KTR added.
Over the last few days, chaotic scenes have played out in front of Hetero Healthcare’s Moosapet branch, where a few hundred people gathered to buy the Remdesivir drug. A dose (6 vials) of it costs over Rs.30,000, and øver the past week, about half a dozen people were found black marketing the drug for about Rs.30,000 per vial.
A day earlier in Hyderabad, the city police arrested three people, including two pharmacy owner for trying to sell the Remdesivir drug for Rs.23,000 to Rs.32,000 per vial. Similarly, earlier this week, three others, including two employees of Hetero Healthcare itself were found trying to sell the drug in black. They were arrested near the Hyderabad Public School at Begumpet.