A pharma company in Russia wants to make a generic version of Gilead’s remdesivir without a patent.
According to Reuters, Pharmasyntez has asked the Kremlin for approval and points out that the drug being used to treat patients with COVID-19 is not available in Russia and that the drug could be used to save lives. Pharmasyntez said that it reached out to Gilead in July and asked for its consent to make remdesivir but it never heard back.
The company, based in Siberia, has argued to the Kremlin that it could activate a compulsory licensing process based on national security to give it the OK to make a generic version of the drug without Gilead’s OK. Gilead has already given out voluntary licenses to make generic versions of remdesivir in 127 — mostly low-income — countries.
