Eli Lilly of Indiana received permission for restricted emergency use from India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, for baricitinib in combination with remdesivir, for treatment of suspected or laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in hospitalized adults requiring supplemental oxygen, invasive mechanical ventilation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.
The company has offered a donation of 450,000 tablets of baricitinib to the Indian government through Direct Relief while simultaneously working with several local Indian pharmaceutical companies to execute royalty-free voluntary licensing agreements to accelerate the manufacturing and distribution of the medicine in India during the pandemic. Baricitinib is an oral medication registered in India for the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis in adult patients who have responded inadequately to, or who are intolerant to one or more disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs.
“With the COVID-19 crisis devastating India, hospitals are overwhelmed by the number of cases, and patients need access to potentially life-saving treatments such as baricitinib. We hope that our donations as well as collaborations with other organizations speed up the access to baricitinib and provide treatment options for these patients,” said David A. Ricks, CEO of the company.
