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ISLAMABAD: The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has reduced the price of remdesivir, the first and only approved treatment for Covid-19 in the United States, by Rs1,629 taking the price down to Rs 9,244.
According to a notification issued by DRAP today, the price of remdesivir injection has been slashed by Rs1,629, adding that the antiviral drug will be sold at Rs9,244 across the country.
The regulatory authority warned that strict legal action will be taken against those who are selling the drug at higher prices.
The number of coronavirus cases has been surging across the country as 707 new infections were reported in the past 24 hours.
According to the National Command and Control Centre which records COVID-19 statistics, the national tally of infections has reached 328,602. Three people succumbed to the deadly disease, taking the death toll to 6,739.
The country’s current case fertility rate has reached 2.06% while the global rate stood at 2.72%. It also noted that 71% of total deaths were of males out of which 76% were over the age of 50.
It is worth mentioning here that remdesivir has reportedly proved effective against the novel COVID-19 and the federal cabinet had approved to reduce the price of the antiviral drug last month.
In May, US pharmaceutical company Gilead had allowed Pakistan to produce the antiviral drug in the country.
The U.S. health regulator’s approval for its use in hospitalized patients had come despite the World Health Organization last week saying the drug did not have a substantial effect on patients’ length of hospital stay or chances of survival in a global trial.
