Jubilant Generics Ltd has launched the Covid-19 drug remdesivir under the ‘JUBI-R’ brand at ₹4,700 per vial in the Indian market, the Noida-based pharmaceutical firm said on Monday.

The subsidiary of Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd will make the drug available to more than 1,000 hospitals providing Covid-19 treatment in India through its distribution network and will also provide a 24-hour helpline to enhance access to the drug during the pandemic.

The Jubilant Group’s non-profit organisation, Jubilant Bhartia Foundation, will also launch programmes to give increased access to the drug for patients below the poverty line and to frontline paramedical staff. “We have launched the product at affordable prices and strive to make it available in sufficient quantities to meet high demand for the drug in the Indian market and in other countries,” said Shyam S Bhartia, chairman and managing director, and Hari S Bhartia, co-chairman of Jubilant Pharma Ltd, in a statement.

The entire treatment, which requires six vials of the drug, will cost ₹28,200. Gilead Sciences Inc., the innovator of remdesivir, had signed a pact with Jubilant Life for licensing the generic of its novel drug and for its sale in 127 low- and middle-income countries, including India.

US-based Gilead has given it the licence on a royalty-free basis till an alternative drug is discovered, or till the WHO declares the end of its ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern’ for the drug. It has also given the companies freedom to price their products. On July 20, Jubilant received approval from the Drug Controller General of India to manufacture and market the antiviral drug for restricted emergency use in India for the treatment of severe Covid-19 patients. ‘JUBI-R’ will require to be administered intravenously in a hospital setting under the supervision of a medical practitioner, it added.

The promoters of HT Media Ltd, which publishes Mint, and Jubilant Life Sciences, are closely related. There are, however, no promoter cross-holdings.