August 03, 2020: Drug firm Jubilant Life Sciences on Monday said it has launched the generic version of antiviral drug remdesivir in India for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

The injectable drug, under the brand name 'JUBI-R', is priced at Rs 4,700 per vial of 100 mg. 

Jubilant Generics will make the drug available to over 1,000 hospitals providing COVID-19 treatment in India through its distribution network.

In order to increase accessibility of the drug to patients below the poverty line and to front-line paramedical staff, Jubilant Bhartia Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation of the Jubilant Group, is launching programs in India aimed at its distribution, it added.

In May 2020, Jubilant entered into a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences, Inc. that granted it the right to register, manufacture and sell Gilead’s investigational drug remdesivir in 127 countries including India.

Remdesivir is the only antiviral drug that has received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the USFDA for treatment of suspected or laboratory confirmed COVID-19 in adults and children hospitalized with severe disease.

On July 20, 2020, Jubilant received approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to manufacture and market the investigational antiviral drug remdesivir (“JUBI-R") for 100 mg/vial (lyophilized injection) for restricted emergency use in India for the treatment of severe COVID-19. 

‘JUBI-R’ will require to be administered intravenously in a hospital setting under the supervision of a medical practitioner, the company said in a regulatory filing.