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Investigation has found that two life-saving drugs used to treat Covid-19 patients in India – remdesivir and tocilizumab – are in short supply and being sold for excessive rates on a thriving black market according to BBC.
The official price for each vial is 5,400 rupees, and a patient typically needs five to six doses.
The demand for remdesivir is driven by the fact that it has managed to cut the duration of Covid symptoms from 15 days down to 11 in clinical trial at hospitals around the world.
Experts have warned that it’s no “silver bullet”. But in the absence of any proven drug, doctors are increasingly prescribing it in India, driving demand in Delhi and other Indian cities.
Some say they even spent their life’s savings to buy the drug – just to give a loved one a fighting chance to survive.
