Gilead agrees licenses for generic manufacturing of Remdesivir

Gilead Science, the American biotech company behind the antiviral agent Remdesivir has entered into a non-exclusive licensing agreement with five generic manufacturers from India and Pakistan to produce and market the drug, which has the potential for antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2.

Amongst the licensees are pharmaceutical companies Cipla and Mylan, already known for their work producing generic HIV antiretrovirals. The territory agreed in these licenses covers 127 countries including 11 states from the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA): Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. The license agreement does not apply to the territory of Russia.

As noted in Gilead’s official statement, generic manufacturers, under the terms of the agreement, reserve the right to independently determine the prices of the drug. However, sales royalties will not be paid until the WHO announces the end of a period of public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), or until any other drug for the treatment of COVID-19 is approved.

Life4Me+ would like to add that at the moment remdesivir is not an approved agent for the treatment of new coronavirus infection, but it is being used by a number of countries in the framework of early access programs and clinical trials.