The prices of coronavirus drug Remdesivir have fallen by more than half as per the latest tenders obtained by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
The civic body will purchase 40,000 vials of the drug, at around ₹650 per vial. Tenders were floated by the BMC after a BJP MLA accused the civic body of purchasing vials for ₹1,900 without tenders.
On March 9, the civic body placed orders through a private firm for 10,000 vials of the drug at ₹1,904 per vial. Officials had said at the time that they were acquiring large quantities of the drug given the steep increase in COVID-19 cases.
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The accusations were made by BJP MLA Ameet Satam last week, wherein he said that the BMC was paying double the price for Remdesivir without initiating a tender process.
The MLA sent a letter to BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal saying that the drug was being supplied by Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceutical Corp (HBPCL) at more than ₹1,000 per vial wherein South Central Railways purchased the drug by paying ₹924.
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In response, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects), P Velrasu, said, “We floated tenders for another 40,000 vials. The rate we got is Rs650. We will pay the existing supplier for 10,000 vials at this rate. We had taken an undertaking from the supplier that he will supply at lowest rates, fixed in the new tender, so there will be no extra payment.”
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