Sales of Ivermectin, drug to treat parasitic infections, jump fourfold

Mumbai-based pulmonologist Dr Agam Vora said in the first few months of the pandemic, the line of treatment was not established

Ivermectin, a drug used to treat parasitic infections, rose to prominence in 2020 as a treatment for Covid-19, pushing its sales up by more than 25 times, prompting more drug firms to launch the product. 

Though demand for Ivermectin slowed with the rise of antivirals like remdesivir and favipiravir, experts feel its relevance as a prophylaxis remains. Annual sales of Iverm­ectin were around Rs 19 crore in 2018 and went up to Rs 21 crore in 2019. In 2020 it shot up to Rs 94 crore. The drug’s sales grew from Rs 1.7 crore in April to Rs 26.8 crore in