Hyderabad: Black marketing allegation forces pharma firm to shut Remdesivir sale outlet
Private hospitals face acute shortage of Remdesivir
Moosapet: A Remdesivir sales outlet of a pharma company, situated at Moosapet is now closed and the injection will now be available online only. People have to contact the WhatsApp number given by the pharma company to place an order. A decision has been taken by the company to curb the black marketing of the injection. Many instances of black marketing of Remdesivir are said to have come to light recently.
A banner put up at the outlet says: "Remdesivir available online". Thousands of Covid-19 patients have been approaching the outlet for the last four days. Panic gripped the people as the company was unable to supply enough Remdesivir to meet the demand.
Taking advantage of the situation, brokers stepped in and started black marketing the life-saving drug. The outlet staff is also suspected to have been hand-in- glow with brokers involved in black marketing. The allegations further gained strength when police arrested three persons on Monday for their involvement in selling the injections in black market. A large number of people had gathered at the outlet on Monday to buy the injection. However, only two to three hundred people had succeeded in getting the much- needed injection.
The people who waited in vain from dawn till midnight were angry with the outlet staff. The company authorities had rushed to the outlet as the news spread about desperate crowd waiting for the injection on social media. It is learnt that the frustrated people argued with the authorities and blamed them for backing black marketing. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, manufacturers have decided to sell the Remdesivir only online. A WhatsApp number (91338 96969) has been displayed at the outlet for people to contact the pharma company.
Those who need Remdesivir can send the names of the patient and attendant, phone number, hospital name, patient IP number, city name and doses required. The company will supply the injection. Hundreds of people who visited the outlet were seen returning disappointed.