Wardha co may start Rem production from Saturday

Nagpur: Even as Union minister Nitin Gadkari said that the Wardha-based Genetek Life Sciences would start manufacturing Remdesivir from Wednesday, it’s likely to come out with its first batch on May 1.
Gadkari made the announcement while inaugurating the 100-bed Covid hospital at KT Nagar along with leader of opposition Devendra Fadnavis and MLC Parinay Fuke on Tuesday.However, the company’s director Mahendra Kshirsagar clarified that they would be receiving the raw material from Hyderabad-based Hetero Drugs Limited on Wednesday.
“It would take a couple of days for testing the material, which is a long and complicated procedure. We don’t have any idea about the quantity of raw material we would be receiving. By Saturday, we would probably be able to produce the first batch of 30,000 Remdesivir vials, provided all test results are according to the parameters and there’s sufficient supply of raw material,” he told TOI.
Elaborating on the possible plan, Kshirsagar said they have developed a new technology at their Sevagram MIDC plant through which they can produce a whopping 2.5 lakh Remdesivir vials per day that would take care of the entire country.
“We produce injections for CT scan and MRI machines and have used this technology on other products successfully. This technology is called ‘Form Fill Seal’ from where Remdesivir would be made available in plastic vials, instead of glass. It needs numerous testing, compatibility and stability that would take another two to three months,” said Kshirsagar.
Earlier, Gadkari announced that Nagpur district would be receiving 110MT oxygen from the Bhilai plant from the earlier 60MT, and SAIL would be providing 30MT. Even Inox Company would be setting up a plant for producing 80MT from the air. “We will be receiving 140MT oxygen, but faced problems of transportation as four trucks went back to Delhi and Chhattisgarh. Now, Pyare Khan came to our rescue by providing tankers for the purpose. He would be monitoring their movements. We’re also receiving tankers from Bellari and Visakhapatnam.”
The minister has also requested VNIT director Pramod Padole to send a team to provide technical support to various oxygen plants in the city, for repairs and other purposes. “US-based businessman Dr Shah has promised 1,100 oxygen concentrators which we plan to bring to the city through Air India, free of cost. We’re trying our best to provide oxygen and ventilators to all parts of Vidarbha, including Sironcha,” said Gadkari.
Kshirsagar told TOI that ‘chemical-physio instrumental testing’ would be conducted on the Remdesivir formulation and thoroughly checked on various parameters. “We also conduct a sterility test on the product at our in-house facility which takes many days,” he said.