Indian drug makers gear up to make Gilead's remdesivir for Covid-19 therapy

Domestic players will be free to price it; Dutch firm Mylan also to make the drug in India; no royalty for Gilead as yet

Three Indian drugmakers, and a Netherlands-based firm that has a majority of its plants here, are readying to make antiviral drug remdesivir, which is under consideration for treating Covid-19, after they signed licensing pacts with US-based Gilead.
 

Gilead Sciences signed non-exclusive licensing agreements with five generic drug makers in India and Pakistan to expand the supply of remdesivir, the re-purposed Ebola drug.
 

According to the agreement, the companies — Cipla, Hetero Labs, Jubilant LifeSciences, Mylan, and Pakistan-based Ferozsons Labs — will manufacture and sell remdesivir in 127 countries.

Under the terms of the licensing agreement, these companies will have