India's Cipla set to undercut rivals with generic remdesivir -sources

Syngene International

08/07/2020 13:59

By Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Siddharth Cavale
    BENGALURU, July 8 (Reuters) - Indian drugmaker Cipla Ltd
 CIPL.NS  has priced its generic version of Remdesivir, Cipremi,
at 4,000 rupees ($53.34) per 100 mg vial, according to several
sources, making it among the lowest priced versions of the
COVID-19 treatment available so far globally.
    Cipla had earlier said pricing would not exceed 5,000
rupees. On Tuesday, Sovereign Pharma, which is manufacturing and
packaging the drug for Cipla, said it had dispatched the first
batch.
    Cipla India business chief executive officer and executive
vice president Nikhil Chopra said in an emailed statement that
the company was launching Cipremi commercially on Wednesday and
aims to supply over 80,000 vials within the first month, but did
not give details on pricing or dosage. 
    The drug will be available through the government and
hospitals only, the company said.  
    Sources said the first batch of 10,000 vials had been
printed with a price of 4,000 rupees, 800 rupees below the
cheapest option, launched by European competitor Mylan  MYL.O 
this week.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2ED2LF
    Privately held Hetero Labs Ltd's version, Covifor, costs
5,400 rupees per vial while Mylan prices Desrem at 4,800 rupees.
    CNBC TV-18 said earlier on Wednesday that Cipla was set to
launch its drug in the next couple of days, priced at 4,000
rupees.
    With coronavirus cases growing, several more of the big
India-based healthcare firms which make much of the world's
pharmaceuticals are expected to launch competing versions of
Remdesivir, the only major treatment so far approved for
COVID-19.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2E13IF
    Remdesivir's developer, Gilead Sciences Inc  GILD.O , has
priced the original version at $390 per 100 mg vial for
wealthier nations while signing licensing deals with generic
producers to make the treatment widely available.
    India is now the third worst hit nation in the pandemic with
700,000 cases, behind the United States and Brazil.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2AY3AS
    An employee at Cipla, who declined to be named because he is
not authorized to speak to the media, said the company would
send Cipremi to stockists starting Thursday.
    It was not immediately clear how many of Cipla's vials would
be required for a full treatment course. Gilead has said a
patient would typically need six vials of Remdesivir for a
five-day course.
        
($1 = 74.9990 Indian rupees)

    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
FACTBOX-Price estimates for Gilead's remdesivir for COVID-19   
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2E13IF
FACTBOX-Countries where remdesivir is approved or supported for
treating COVID-19     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2EA2LZ
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 (Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Siddharth Cavale and 
Anuron Kumar Mitra in Bengaluru; Editing by Patrick Graham and
Bernard Orr)
 ((AnuronKumar.Mitra@thomsonreuters.com; +91 99863 58469;))