Eskayef starts distributing Remdesivir to hospitals for COVID-19 treatment

Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Limited has received approval to market Remdesivir, an effective drug for treating coronavirus.

The drug administration approved the product on Sunday, said a press release issued by the company.

After getting approval, Eskayef has already delivered this medicine to 13 hospitals of the country.

The brand name for Remdesivir manufactured by Eskayef is "Remivir."

Eskayef's formulation scientists began working on the Remdesivir from mid-March.

The company completed all production processes in the first week of May. After the necessary tests and procedures, the drug administration allows it to be marketed from Sunday.

Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Limited Managing Director and CEO Simeen Hossain said the company wants to serve the people of Bangladesh to tackle coronavirus.

"Eskayef is working to make the treatment for the virus readily available. It produced Remdesivir with the same goal," she added.

The drug, developed by the US company Gilead Sciences Inc, has received worldwide response due to successful results in initial clinical trials in treating Coronavirus desease. Later US FDA, Japanese Ministry of Health and European Medicines Agency approved Remdesivir for emergency use in the treatment of Covid-19.

Eskayef's "Remivir" was manufactured at the company's Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain Plant. The medicine has been manufactured with modern equipment and maximum quality control system.

Remdesivir has so far shown the highest rate of success against coronavirus or Covid-19. Gilead's own experiments have shown that the use of this drug has improved the condition of the patients.

This drug is to be injected intravenously. Its dose depends on the severity of the disease. Severely ill patients may need 5 or 10 day doses for the purpose of treatment.

Eskayef Pharmaceuticals Limited, a concern of Transcom Group, has been producing medicines for 30 years.

The company has been exporting medicines to 30 countries in Europe, Australia, Africa and Asia.