Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has sought permission from the Indian central government to import 50,000 vials of Remdesivir from Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies for emergency use. He has written to D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Indian Cabinet Minister, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, requesting him to allow import and use of the medicine. Read Nigeria collects coronavirus medicine from Bangladesh “With the increasing demand for Remedisivir for critical patients in Jharkhand & its unavailability, we have reached out to Pharma companies in Bangladesh for buying around 50,000 vials for emergency use. I have written to DV Sadanand Gowda for permission to import as soon as possible,” Chief Minister Soren tweeted. He said they have been able to get a quotation from Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd for 50,000 vials of Demsivir Injection (Remdesivir) at a total cost of US$ 1 million, which the Jharkhand government is willing to procure at the earliest in light of the pressing needs of this medicine. Also read: Covid-19 turns India into vaccine importer from exporter “I would request you to kindly allow us to import and use the above mentioned medicine from the said company of Bangladesh so that we are able to save the precious lives,” Soren wrote in his letter to Minister Gowda. Currently Eskayef (SK-F), Beacon, Incepta, Beximco, Healthcare and Square are producing the drug, which was first developed by US biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences. Also read: Beximco Pharmaceuticals hands over 1000 doses of Remdesivir to Health Ministry Remdesivir was the first drug approved by US regulator the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is indicated for treatment of COVID-19 disease in hospitalized adults and children aged 12 years and older.  Full approval was preceded by the US FDA issuing an EUA (emergency use authorization) on May 1, 2020 to allow prescribing remdesivir for severe COVID-19 (confirmed or suspected) in hospitalized adults and children, according to Medscape. Read Beximco Pharmaceuticals hands over 1000 doses of Remdesivir to Health Ministry

History of human beings is a history of being driven basically by collective interest, not by personal interest. Economists made us believe that we are driven only by personal interest, and act accordingly through profit maximization. It is time to restore our core identity by making businesses to serve society’s needs first and foremost; profit cannot come at the expense of human well-being, and human life. Nowhere should that be more true than our health—which was enshrined by our leaders as a fundamental right when I was merely 6 years old, in the 1946 constitution of the World Health Organization.