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Chennai battles to win Remdesivir...Is it a life-saving drug and will it cure COVID-19? Explained!

By alagu, 29 April, 2021
Remdesivir, COVID-19, Chennai

For the past few days, visuals from Chennai had captured the yearning of the citizens on how they are desperate to save their dear ones from the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as the city and the state pose the adverse impact of the second wave of the pandemic, thousands of people were seen thronging at a government hospital in Chennai with the aim of getting Remdesivir, the antiviral drug that has come to the limelight for being prescribed to treat the Corona patients. 

Remdesivir is the drug being prescribed by doctors across India to treat COVID-19 patients. The demand for the antiviral drug has surged in the past few days as thousands of people were marching towards the pharmacies as the private hospitals are asking the patients to buy the drug individually at the pharmacies despite the directive from the government that the private hospitals have to arrange Remdesivir directly through the government's helpline 104. 

As the crowds were uncontrollable, the state government has on Monday installed a centre at the Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) to sell Remdesivir to the patients with valid documents. As the doctors had prescribed the antivirus drug to treat the Corona patients, most of the people had complained that the drug was not in stock in any pharmacy and appealed to the health authorities to make the stock available at the earliest to treat their dear ones who are battling the pandemic. 

According to reports, the state government has come to the conclusion to set up an exclusive centre at KMC to sell the drug to arrest the grounds of the black market for the drug supply with a high price. It was indeed a bizarre development that Tamil Nadu has gone contrary to the Union government's directive. The reports say that the Union government in its directive issued on April 21, Remdesivir shall be distributed only through the state governments or approved distribution channels. Cipla, who is the leading manufacturer of Remdesivir in India, had announced that it will supply the drug only to the government and private COVID hospitals recognized by the state drug control authorities. 

The question would naturally arise on why the private hospitals are asking the patient's relatives to chase and win the antidrug if the hospitals are asked to procure from the government and whether Remdesivir is a life-saving drug with a curability from the pandemic. The Center government has on April 11 had banned the export of Remdesivir with the view of increasing the availability of the drug in the country but most of the health experts admit that Remdesivir is not a life-saving drug and it only has the light to reduce the patient's stay at the hospital and pressed that the people don't have to worry if they are not able to win the drug to treat their loved ones. 

To date, there is no evidence to indicate that the drug helps cure coronavirus and the drug is yet to pass the test on reducing mortality in the Corona-hit patients. Speaking to a news agency, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, who is the Chief Scientist of the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the findings from five clinical trials show that Remdesivir did not reduce the need for mechanical ventilation among those suffering from a severe case of the COVID-19 viral infection and it neither helps in reducing mortality. 

Swaminathan's divulgement has come in parallel to the statements from WHO that the large-scale clinical trials on the use of Remdesivir on COVID-19 patients have been inconclusive. Currently, the results of many studies are still awaited to ascertain whether Remdesivir has any positive impact on the treatment of COVID-19. Some of the global experts say that the antidrug does not provide any major benefit to the Corona patients but it has the potentiality to reduce a patient's hospital stay by a few days.

Speaking to a news agency, a doctor based in Chennai has reiterated that Remdesivir is not a life-saving drug. He said, "The drug has shown to lessen the number of days a patient spends in hospital by three days. It is effective only in patients who need oxygen support but are not critical and no studies have so far shown Remdesivir to be a life-saving drug". By citing that the doctors ask for the drug to give some comfort to their patients, the doctor asserted that the relatives don't have to panic if they asked to buy Remdesivir to treat their loved ones. 

On Tuesday, Tamil Nadu's Director of Public Health said Dr. TS Selvavinayagam has also noted that Remdesivir is not a life-saving drug. In his message, he said, "As I said earlier, it is not going to prevent you from mortality. At the most, it will only reduce the duration of your stay in the hospital". He advised the private hospitals to refer the patients in need of Remdesivir to the government institutions or the counters set up by the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC) with the required documents. 

Tamil Nadu had actually witnessed a sudden rush to get the antidrug to treat the Corona patients as apart from the KMC, there were similar crowds across the state to win the drug. According to reports, a total of 2,800 vials of Remdesivir were sold in KMC on Monday and Tuesday and the sales were done through a token system. Owing to the sudden demand, TNMSC Managing Director Umanath said that the medical corporation is considering expanding it if sufficient supplies are received. Per vial of Remdesivir is sold at Rs 1,568 in KMC, Chennai and the battle to win Remdesivir has come when Tamil Nadu is facing a grim challenge of containing the second wave of the pandemic. 

 

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