In a major relief to coronavirus patients, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) on Monday reduced the price of Remdesivir, the first and only approved treatment for COVID-19 in the United States (US), by Rs1,629 to Rs9,244.
In a notification, DRAP said that the price of Remdesivir injection has been slashed by Rs1,629, adding that the antiviral drug will be sold at Rs9,244 across the country.
The regulatory authority warned that strict legal action will be taken against those who are selling the drug at higher prices.
It is pertinent to mention that remdesivir has reportedly proved effective against the novel coronavirus and the federal cabinet had approved to reduce the price of the antiviral drug last month. In May, US pharmaceutical company Gilead had allowed Pakistan to produce the antiviral drug in the country.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases are once again at rise in the country as 707 new infections were reported across the country on Sunday-Monday, lifting the national tally of infections to 328,602, said the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).
Three patients, who were under treatment in hospitals, died during the aforementioned period, according to the latest update shared by the NCOC. The figure of patients recovered from the virus has reached 311,075. There are now nearly 11,000 active cases in the country.
About 26,492 tests were conducted across the country on Sunday. Around 311,075 people have recovered from the disease so far across Pakistan. Since the pandemic outbreak, a total of 328,602 cases were detected, including Sindh reporting 143,836, Punjab 102,875, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) 39,043, Balochistan, 15,810, Islamabad, 1,902, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) 3,846, and Gilgit Baltistan (GB) has reported 4,180 cases.
A total of 4,290,545 tests have been conducted so far, while 735 hospitals are equipped with COVID-19 facilities. About 559 patients admitted to hospitals across the country are said to be in critical condition.
Meanwhile, as many as 71 healthcare staff working at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Islamabad have tested positive for the coronavirus in the past 30 days.
