Zydus Cadila inks licensing pact with Gilead for remdesivir

Zydus Cadila has signed a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences Inc for manufacturing and distribution of remdesivir, a potential therapy for COVID-19, informed the company in a statement.

Pankaj Patel, Chairman, Zydus Cadila said, “We are happy to collaborate with Gilead Sciences and increase the access to this life-saving drug for patients suffering from COVID-19.”

In the last decade, Zydus Cadila has been partnering with Gilead Sciences to address various public healthcare challenges and improve global access to affordable need-based therapies. At this critical juncture, we join hands once again to ensure that no efforts are spared in the fight against this pandemic,” Patel said.

As part of the non-exclusive agreement, Zydus will receive the manufacturing know-how from Gilead Sciences to manufacture the API for remdesivir and the finished product and market it in 127 countries, including India, the statement said.

“Under the agreement, the licence is royalty-free until another pharma product or vaccine is approved for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 by the USFDA or EMA (European Medicines Agency) or the WHO (World Health Organization) announcing the end of the public health emergency,” it added.

The company will leverage its ability to scale up production to reach patients across India and in 127 countries in Gilead’s global patient solution region, the statement said.

Earlier, in May, three other domestic pharma firms Cipla, Jubilant Life Sciences and Hetero entered into non-exclusive licensing agreements with Gilead Sciences for manufacturing and distribution of remdesivir.