Biocon to launch COVID-19 medicine for Rs 8,000 per viral

Biotechnology major Biocon said it will launch biologic drug Itolizumab for the treatment of moderate to severe Covid-19 patients at a price of around 8,000 per vial. The company has received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India to market Itolizumab injection solution for emergency use in India for the treatment of cytokine release syndrome in moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome due to Covid-19. The drug will be manufactured and formulated as an intravenous injection at the company's bio-manufacturing facility at Biocon Park, Bengaluru.

The cost of per vial is Rs 7,950. As most patients need 4 vials, the cost of the therapy is around Rs 32,000. "Until the vaccine comes, we certainly need life saving drugs. I think what we are doing across the world is to see how we can either repurpose drugs or develop new drugs to treat this pandemic," Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said in a virtual press conference. Itolizumab is the first novel biologic therapy to be approved anywhere in the world for treating patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 complications, Biocon had earlier said in a regulatory filing. With cases on the rise, several states have reimposed lockdowns to curb the spread of COVID-19. The states powering India’s cases include Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana. However, Delhi has seen a remarkable turnaround; the city reported less than 1,000 new infections Monday for the first time since June 1.