COVID-19 Impact on Remdesivir in Healthcare Industry
OVERVIEW
In early 2020, a new virus has begun to make headlines around the world due to its unprecedented speed of transmission. Its origins can be traced back to the food market in Wuhan, China in December 2019. From there, it has reached countries as far away as the United States and the Philippines. The virus (formally called SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for millions of infections worldwide and causes hundreds and thousands of deaths. The United States is the most affected country. The disease caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2 is called COVID-19, which stands for coronavirus disease 2019. As definitive treatments for confirmed COVID-19 have not yet been identified, there is significant interest in repeating existing antiviral drugs for use against COVID-19.
Several therapies have been evaluated for the treatment of COVID-19, but they have not yet been shown to be effective. Remdesivir (GS-5734), a viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase inhibitor with inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV and respiratory syndrome in the Middle East (MERS-CoV), was early identified as a promising therapist for COVID-19 due to its ability to inhibit CoV- SARS 2 in vitro. In addition, in studies with non-human primates, remdesivir started, starting 12 hours after MERS-CoV inoculation, lung virus levels and lung damage.
IMPACT ON PRICE
A large number of challenges are being faced by the various market players due to the coming of the novel coronavirus, one such issue is the uncertainty surrounding the impact of COVID-19 on remdesivir demands. Due to the increased demand of remdesivir for coronavirus treatment and stiff competition between the market players, the price of remdesivir has decreased.
Remdesivir is expected to be in high demand as one of the treatments to date that converts COVID-19. After the intravenous drug helped shorten the hospital recovery time in a clinical trial, it was cleared of emergency use in the United States and fully approved in Japan.
The drug is thought to be more effective in treating patients earlier in the course of the disease than dexamethasone, which has reduced the number of deaths in patients in need of oxygen support and those in ventilators. However, remdesivir, in its current formulation, is only used in patients who are sick enough to require hospitalization for a five-day course. For the U.S. patients with employment insurance, Gilead said it would charge USD 3,120 for each course or USD 520 for each vial. That's a 33% increase from USD 390 per vial that Gilead said it would charge the governments of developed countries and the U.S. patients in government health programs.
All India Drugs Action Network, NGOs, have urged the Ministry of Health to price COVID-19 related experimental treatments including remdesivir, a drug first developed to treat Ebola. The Department of Pharmaceuticals had received complaints that remdesivir was being prescribed indirectly and had asked the Ministry of Health and the drug regulatory authority to monitor whether hospitals were using remdesivir instead of lower-priced drugs.
At the same time, ironically in India, the price war has begun among the general suppliers of the drug and even prices are expected to fall more as more companies start operating stocks. Zydus is the fifth Indian company to launch the drug to treat coronavirus disease by Hetero Labs, Cipla, Mylan NV and Jubilant Life Sciences. Cipla's Cipremi costs Rs 4,000, Hetero Healthcare's Covifor Rs 5,400, Mylan's version Rs 4,800 and Jubilant's JUBI-R Rs 4,700. Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila has launched the cheapest Remdesivir syringe for COVID-19 treatment in India to date and has launched a price war with other companies licensed by Gilead to sell it in India and other parts of the country.
With the increasing demand and increasing sale of remdesivir drugs, the competition between the remdesivir drugs manufacturers has increased market, leads to the fall of remdesivir drugs price.
IMPACT ON DEMAND
The Corona virus zone is the result of various markets around the world. This is the cause of the widespread closures and isolation that are affecting world economic activity.
Remdesivir still under research and possible treatment for COVID-19, are in high demand. Physicians are increasingly prescribing it too moderately to seriously ill patients, even though scientific evidence on their efficacy is awaited. COVID-19 outbreaks have led to a sharp increase in the demand for remdesivir and to cilizumab - two drugs that have become necessary to treat severe cases of infection. To meet demand, the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to buy remdesivir from a company in Gujarat. With the state registering more than 7,000 new cases of COVID-19 daily, there has been a growing demand for remdesivir and tocilizumab, which have been effective in many serious cases of infection. However, this has also led to a shortage of these drugs in the market as well as an overload of some retailers.
Chemists and pharmacists are in the high demand for the antiviral drug remdesivir. The EMA's Human Rights Committee has recommended that the Gilead Sciences antiretroviral drug, remdesivir, be approved for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 in the EU, making it the first coronary antiviral drug to reach that milestone.
IMPACT ON SUPPLY
As the epidemic intensifies, supply chains can be at significant risk due to over-located locations that can potentially be disrupted. The supply chain of drugs has been disrupted. The spread of COVID-19 makes it difficult for governments to use these drugs; the availability of these systems faces constant challenges due to their components of use as well as limited initial needs.Read more…