AGP Ltd to start selling remdesivir in Pakistan within two months

Chief executive says the company plans to seek permission from the Pakistan’s drug authority to import the medicine

AGP Limited, a partner of Mylan NV in Pakistan, is planning to sell Covid-19 treatment remdesivir, shown to help improve coronavirus patients' recovery, in the country within two months, Bloomberg reported.

In an interview to Bloomberg, AGP Chief Executive Officer Nusrat Munshi said the company would seek permission from the country’s drug authority to import the medicine.

The pharmaceutical company already has a similar arrangement for the Hepatitis C treatment Sovaldi, which it will import from Mylan. AGP is Mylan’s exclusive distributor in Pakistan.

As per the news report, the development comes a few weeks after remdesivir’s original creator Foster City signed agreements with four generic drug manufacturers in India, including Mylan’s unit in the country, and one in Pakistan to speed development and help meet the pressing demand.

The only Pakistani pharma to currently hold a license to create the drug is a unit of Ferozsons Laboratories Ltd.

There has been a worldwide urgency to develop coronavirus treatments as most countries are now looking for ways to ease lockdowns safely and restart economies.

Last week, a vaccine made by Moderna Inc passed a crucial early safety test. A drug made by Gilead was originally developed in 2010 to treat Ebola.

Earlier this month, Pakistan saw a massive rush of people in public places ahead of Eid festivities as it eased its lockdown by opening shopping malls and retail shops. In Karachi a few markets were temporarily shut for not following social distancing rules.

“The concept of a lockdown is that it gives the country’s health-care system time to prepare,” said Munshi, adding that health-care facilities including beds haven’t been ramped up and mass testing hasn’t been conducted.

AGP was said to have sold about 100,000 anti-body test kits since last month to hospitals and private companies looking to test their staff as more people return to work. The company has another 100,000 kits and is considering importing more as it is seeing high demand, according to Munshi.

Pakistan, despite its close proximity with China, remained coronavirus-free until February 26 when a young man from Karachi tested positive after returning from Iran – one of the worst-hit countries. After a brief hiatus following the first case, Covid-19 cases spiked as more pilgrims returning from Iran tested positive for the virus.

The nationwide tally of Covid-19 patients currently stands at 70,381 with 25,056 cases in Punjab, 28,245 in Sindh, 9,540 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 4,193 in Balochistan, 678 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 2,418 in Islamabad and 251 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The virus has claimed at least 1,483 lives, while about 25,271 coronavirus patients have recovered.