Russian firm seeks to produce COVID-19 drug remdesivir without patent

Russian firm seeks to produce COVID-19 drug remdesivir without patent

Remdesivir is not available in Russia, Pharmasyntez’s director Vikram Punia said, but a generic version cannot be produced and distributed without the consent of the patent-holder, U.S. firm Gilead Sciences GILD.O.

Pharmasyntez wrote to the U.S. firm in July requesting its consent in the form of a voluntary licence, but did not hear back, Punia said.

The Siberian-based drugmaker is now asking the Kremlin to activate a compulsory licensing process on the basis of national security, granting it the right to produce the generic – labelled Remdeform – without Gilead’s consent.

“Many people’s lives could be saved using this drug. The longer this drug is inaccessible, the more people we will lose,” Punia said.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

+ 1 = 11