Eskayef starts distributing remdesivir to hospitals

Eskayef Pharmaceuticals, one of the leading drug manufacturing companies of the country, received approval to market remdesivir, an effective drug for treating coronavirus.

The drug administration approved the sample on Sunday. Eskayef has already provided this medicine to 13 hospitals. The brand name for remdesivir manufactured by Eskayef is Remivir.

Major general Mahbubur Rahman, director general of Directorate of Drug Administration, told Prothom Alo, "We have given permission to Eskayef to market the drug. They will be able to supply it to approved public and private hospitals for the treatment of coronavirus.”

According to senior officials of Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Limited, the manufacturer of remdesivir, the drug administration decided to use the drug on an emergency basis in March.

Shortly after the approval, Eskayef 's formulation scientists began working on the drug from mid-March. Eskayef completes all production processes in the first week of May. After the necessary tests, the drug administration allows it to be marketed today.

Simeen Hossain, managing director and chief executive officer of Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Limited, said Eskayef wants to help the people of Bangladesh to tackle coronavirus.

“Eskayef is working to make the treatment for the virus readily available. It produced remdesivir with the same goal,” she added.

The drug, developed by the US company Gilead Sciences Inc, has received worldwide response due to successful results in initial tests in treating COVID-19.

Eskayef said in a statement that Remivir was manufactured at Eskayef 's Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain building plant. The medicine has been manufactured with modern equipment and maximum quality control system.

Remdesivir has so far shown the highest rate of success against coronavirus or COVID-19. Gilead's own experiments have shown that the use of this drug has improved the condition of the patients. These drugs are to be injected intravenously. Its dose depends on the severity of the disease. Severely ill patients may need 5 or 10 day doses to be cured.

Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Limited, one of the organisations of Transcom Group led by industrialist Latifur Rahman, has been producing medicines for 30 years. The company has been exporting medicines to 30 countries in Europe, Australia, Africa and Asia.