Coronavirus: Health Ministry directs DCGI to ensure equitable distribution of 'investigational therapy' drugs nationwide

New Delhi: The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry have directed the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to ensure equitable distribution of drugs across the country included as part of "investigational therapies" in clinical management protocol for COVID-19.

According to a Health Ministry official, the move comes when Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu informed the ministry of the requirement of investigational therapy drugs.

"With the intervention of DCGI, smaller States and Union Territories (UTs) were provided with adequate quantities of drugs under the investigational therapy for the treatment of COVID-19 patients," said the official.

A letter written by the senior Health Ministry official to the DCGI stated, "I am directed to say that apart from availability, the geographical distribution/reach of the drugs included as part of investigational therapies in clinical management protocol for COVID-19, namely, Remdesivir and Tocilizumab, may also be monitored."

"The Ministry may kindly be apprised as to how many States/UTs have been covered and which of the States/UTs, if any, are left as far as the availability/distribution of these drugs by the respective companies is concerned," read the letter.

So far, India has reported a total of 15.31 lakh COVID-19 cases with 34,193 deaths.