Beximco sends medicine for critically ill Covid-19 patients in Pakistan
Bemsivir is brand name for antiviral drug Remdesivir manufactured by Beximco Pharmaceuticals.
Beximco Pharmaceuticals on Sunday sent some medicine to Pakistan for critically ill Covid-19 patients by a special cargo flight.
Group Captain AHM Touhid-ul Ahsan, director of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA), told The Daily Star that the cargo aircraft landed at the airport at 8:30pm on Sunday and departed at 10:03pm.
A spokesperson of Beximco said the medicine was sent to Pakistan on request of the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka for three critically ill Covid-19 patients.
“Beximco sent 48 vials/injections of Bemsivir — an act Beximco carried out on humanitarian considerations,” the spokesperson told The Daily Star.
He said Beximco was requested by official authorities to provide Bemsivir — the world’s first approved generic Remdesivir — for a small group of critically ill patients against special import permit issued by Pakistan’s Drug Regulatory Authority.
Recently, a pharmaceutical company in Pakistan announced that it plans to import the antiviral drug Remdesivir, which has shown promise in treating coronavirus patients, from Bangladesh.
The firm said it had entered into an exclusive licensing and marketing agreement with Bangladesh’s Beximco Pharmaceuticals.
“Searle Pharma is planning to import remdesivir in finished form (ready to use) to meet the country’s urgent requirements,” the company told the Pakistan Stock Exchange.
Remdesivir, a drug developed by Gilead Sciences, has grabbed attention as one of the most promising treatments for Covid-19.
(Daily Star)
