Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd on Tuesday announced that its subsidiary Jubilant Generics Ltd has entered into a non-exclusive licencing agreement with US-based Gilead Sciences Inc to manufacture and sell the potential covid-19 drug remdesivir in 127 countries, including India.
Under the pact, Gilead will give Jubilant the right for a technology transfer for manufacturing remdesivir to scale up production and enable expedited access to covid patients after approvals by authorities in various nations, it said in a regulatory filing.
These comprise nearly all low-income and lower middle-income countries, as well as several upper-middle and high-income countries that face significant hurdles to accessing healthcare, it said.
“We will be monitoring the clinical trials and regulatory approvals very closely and would be ready to launch the drug shortly after the required regulatory approvals. We also plan to produce the drug’s API in-house helping its cost effectiveness and consistent availability,” said Shyam S. Bhartia, chairman and Hari S. Bhartia, co-chairman and managing director of Jubilant Life Sciences.
Besides Jubilant Life Sciences, Gilead is also in talks with other companies, including Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Cipla, for a voluntary licencing pact along similar lines, people familiar with the matter said.
The US Food and Drug Administration had on 1 May granted remdesivir the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to treat covid-19 patients.
The promoters of HT Media Ltd, which publishes Mint, and Jubilant Life Sciences are closely related. There are, however, no promoter cross-holdings.
