COVID-19: Hetero's Covifor Priced At Rs 5,400 A Vial

HYDERABAD: Pharmaceutical company Hetero Healthcare on Wednesday announced that it is ready for the delivery of 20,000 vials of remdesivir drug which is used in the treatment of COVID-19 at a price of Rs 5,400 per vial.

As per the statement released by the company, Covifor is the first generic brand of remdesivir, which will be used for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Covifor can be used for the treatment of adults and children and for those who were admitted in the hospitals with severe symptoms of the disease.

Hetero company will deliver 20,000 vials in two different lots, each with 10,000 vials.

Drugmaker Hetero said they will immediately supply the drug to Hyderabad, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Mumbai and Maharashtra.

The company will supply the drug to Vijayawada, Lucknow, Bhopal, Kolkata, Indore, Bhubaneshwar, Patna, Ranchi, Trivandrum, Goa and Cochin within a week.

Hetero officials said they have fixed a maximum retail price of Rs 5,400 per vial for the remdesivir drug.

Hetero Healthcare MD Srinivas Reddy described the launch of Covifer generic version of remdesivir drug as a "great milestone".

Reddy said that this drug will reduce treatment time for COVID-19 and in turn reduce pressure on medical staff treating patients in hospitals.

Hetero MD said that the company is working along with the government as well as private medical institutions to make Covifor quickly accessible to all the public and private health care units across the country.