Govt issues license to 5 companies for production Mucormycosis drugs.

New Delhi, May 27: Amid looking at the rising cases of Mucormycosis in the country, the government of India has given license to five more pharmaceutical companies to manufacture Liposomal Amphotericin B injections in the country. This step will ramp up domestic production of Amphotericin B when the disease is widely spreading in the country. Amphotericin B is used to treat mucormycosis or black fungus.

 

 

Till now, only five companies were producing Amphotericin B, the drug for the infection, in the country. These included Bharat Serum and Vaccines Ltd, BDR Pharmaceuticals, Sun Pharma, Cipla, and Life Care Innovation. At the same time, medicines were also being imported from Mylan Lab.

 

Apart from this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had instructed officials to get this drug from anywhere it is available in the world. Following that Indian missions to various countries are trying to secure supplies for this life-saving drug.

According to the news agency, US-based biopharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences has also stepped forward to help India during this health crisis. The firm is currently is working on accelerating the supply of Liposomal Amphotericin B injections (AmBisome) to India. The company will be supplying a total of 1 million doses of AmBisome.

 

 

It should be worth to be noted that Gilead has already sent 1,21,000 vials of the injection and another 85,000 vials are on their way.

 

 

India has reported, 11,717 cases of mucormycosis. Maharashtra has reported 2,770 cases, Gujarat has 2,859 cases, Andhra Pradesh has 768 cases, Madhya Pradesh has 752 cases, and Telangana has 744 cases as of date. 11 states have declared Black fungus as an epidemic to allow COVID patients avail treatment under various government schemes.