Remdesivir procured at high prices to save lives: BMC

BJP alleges corruption, but Mumbai authorities say Haffkine tender had no response

geetanjali

Geetanjali Minhas | April 16, 2021 | Mumbai


#Maharashtra   #Mumbai   #BMC   #healthcare   #Remdesivir   #Covid-19  


Countering the opposition BJP’s allegations of corruption in the procurement of Remdesivir, a critical anti-viral injection often prescribed for Covid-19 patients, the BrihanMumbai municipal corporation (BMC) has clarified that its decision to procure the drug was aimed at saving  lives even if it meant spending some extra money to procure it.

Remdesivir, said to be a life-saving drug for some serious patients, is in high demand in Maharashtra, which has been registering upwards of 50,000 new cases every day for some time. It is also in short supply, with reports of astronomical prices in the black market.

The BMC has procured Remdesivir at Rs 1568 per vial as against the state-owned Haffkine Institute’s order price of Rs 565 and the wholesale price of Rs 1200. That promoted BJP to demand a probe by the Anti-Corruption Bureau. But the civic authorities have refuted the allegations as incorrect.

The BMC has said that after Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceutical Corporation placed an order to procure 57,100 vials of Remdesivir at the rate of Rs 665 on April 1, 2021 and received no supply, BMC on April 5 floated  a tender for purchase of 2,00,000 vials of Remdesivir which was due on April 7.

A single bid was received from Mylan Laboratories on April 7 at 4.00 pm with the price of Rs 1,568 inclusive of GST per each vial. At that time BMC had stocks of 10,471 vials which would last for barely three-four days. That day BMC had approached Cipla for supplies of around 10,000 vials and Cipla had expressed its inability to commit supply of any vial immediately.

Given the high demand, Mylan refused to reduce its bid price. With more than 17,431 beds under the BMC occupied by Covid patients on April 7, it went ahead and placed an order to procure 2,00,000  vials of Remdesivir out of which 25,000 vials were received immediately.

[BJP meanwhile has cited a letter dated April 9 from Haffkine to Cadilla Healthcare confirming its bid for 57,100 vials at Rs 665.84 each for a total price of Rs 3,80,19,464.]

As per BMC, the Haffkine order of 57,100 vials at the rate of Rs.665 has not elicited any response so far and no supplies have been made. It also said that a false perception has been created that Remdesivir has been procured at very high rates.

“It was imperative to act fast and decisively to procure Remdesivir on 7th April 2021 or MCGM would have faced a huge crisis to treat patients. Any delay would have resulted in Remdesivir going out to other cities and states of India, bringing a bad name to MCGM especially when Mumbai is the financial capital of India. Between money and human lives, MCGM opted to save all possible human lives even if it meant spending extra amount of money for securing 2,00,000 vials of Remdesivir,” said municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal.

The BMC also points out that on April 14, the Pune divisional commissioner had requested it (BMC) to spare 20,000 vials of Remdesivir at its purchase price of Rs 1568 per vial, saying that Mylan had declined to supply due to prior commitments and lack of stocks.

Also, the BMC has pointed out that Mylan has received orders from several authorities including the Surat municipal corporation, the Satara district hospital, the commissioner of medical education in Madhya Pradesh, the NHM mission director in Assam, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation and Gujarat Medical Services Corporation.

Comments

 

Other News

MoEFCC and CAQM launch ‘The Breath of Change’

To tackle air pollution in Delhi-NCR through public participation and creative engagement, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) have jointly launched a strategic communication campaign titled The Breath of Change.

India well on way to becoming a global IP powerhouse

Intellectual Property (IP) has evolved into a critical component of innovation and global competitiveness in India’s economy. As businesses pivot toward intangible assets like data, algorithms and branding, IP protection is no longer a matter of formality—it is a strategic imperative. The last

War and Peace: The conundrum of conflict in West Asia

Israel and Palestine have been the harbinger of troubles for the last 80-odd years. It is an unending and persistent saga of conflict and attrition which has bloodied the political, societal and economic turf in West Asia for long. The scale of wars, which were more than skirmishes of the day, ranged from

Trump’s tariff ploy sparks resistance from Global South

In the history of BRICS, never has any joint statement issued after a leader-level summit contained any remarks—directly or indirectly, against the US. However, for the first time, during the 17th summit of BRICS in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, leaders voiced their concern about America’s impositi

How India can become a $30 tn economy by 2047: A blueprint

Viksit Bharat: India @2047  By Aditya Pittie Fingerprint Publishing This timely and meticulously

The saga of a language family that has shaped the world

Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global By Laura Spinney Distributed in India by HarperCollins India, 352 pages, Rs 599

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now





Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter