India approves emergency use of 'Remdesivir' to treat coronavirus patients

The government of India on Tuesday said that it has approved the Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug 'Remdesivir' for an emergency use in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, a report said.

Remdesivir, the first drug that showed improvement in patients diagnosed with the novel coronavirus in clinical trials. It was authorized as an emergency use by the US Food and Drug Administration last month. Likewise, it has received an approval by the Japanese health regulators.

Reportedly, the Drugs Controller General of India said in a statement that "(Remdesivir) approved on June 1 under emergency use with condition for 5 dose administration."

Meanwhile, India has reported around 198,706 cases of coronavirus and has recorded 5,598 deaths so far, the Union health ministry stated on Tuesday morning. On Monday, the Gilead Sciences had reported that Remdesivir showed positive results in the patients with moderate COVID-19 given a 5-day course.

A report suggested that the European and South Korean authorities are looking at Remdesivir. South Korean health authorities on Friday said that they would ask for the import of the drug.

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The global tally of coronavirus has increased to 6,394,452 out of which 377,971 patients have died and 2,926,932 patients have died. US is on the top with 1,859,693 cases followed by Brazil at 529,405, Russia at 423,741, Spain at 286,718, UK at 276,332, Italy at 233,197, India at 199,785, France at 189,220, Germany at 183,765 and Peru at 170,039.

PTC News