Emergency use nod for Hetero to make Roche's Covid drug

INDIAN drug developer Hetero on Monday (6) said it has received an emergency-use approval from the health authorities to make a generic version of Roche Holding AG’s Covid-19 drug.

The company, based in Hyderabad in the southern Indian state of Telangana, expects to make the treatment – tocilizumab -- under the brand name Tocira which will be available in India by the end of September, Reuters reported.

The drug has been facing a shortage across the globe since the Covid-19 Delta variant drove up cases in several countries.

While the cases in India have gone down, particularly when compared with the peak it saw in April and May, health experts believe that the country should be prepared for a third wave by next month. The timing of the treatment hence could be key.

Tocilizumab, which is an effective arthritis drug, reduces the risk of death among those hospitalised with severe Covid-19 as well as the recovery time and the need for mechanical ventilation, the Reuters report added. India saw a massive crisis during the second wave when people desperately sought oxygen cylinders and beds in hospitals for treatment but there was not enough supply.

Hetero, which makes Covid-19 treatments like remdesivir and favipiravir, also sought in July emergency approval for molnupiravar, a Covid-19 drug from Merck.