HCMC – The first batch of Covid-19 antiviral Remdesivir vials, part of the 500,000 vials Vingroup had announced that it would present to the Ministry of Health, arrived at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC on August 5.
Due to transport obstacles during the pandemic, the antiviral will be divided into many shipments. Next week, some 100,000 more vials are expected to arrive in Vietnam.
The remainder will be shipped to the country this month.
Remdesivir is produced by India’s pharmaceutical company Cipla and licensed by the United States’ research-based biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences. It was approved to be used in the treatment of Covid-19 patients by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in October 2020.
It helps shorten the treatment period and critical patients to recover faster. Remdesivir has been used by 50 countries, including the United States, Australia, Japan, Singapore and India.
It is used for treating Covid-19 patients with moderate and severe symptoms according to the Covid-19 treatment protocol set by the Ministry of Health. The 500,000 vials are expected to treat 80,000 to 100,000 patients.
Pham Sanh Chau, Vietnamese Ambassador to India, had earlier said India would supply Vietnam with one million Remdesivir vials in a month.
A deal was struck between a quick response team set up by the Vietnamese Embassy in India and major pharmaceutical companies Hetero, Dr. Reddy, Cipla, Jubilant, Mylan, Zydus and Cadila.
