CAIT urges govt to make efforts in bringing down the cost of injection used for black fungus treatment

New Delhi, May 22 (KNN) Taking into consideration the treatment of black fungus as very highly costly and beyond the reach of a common man, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has sent a communication today to Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister for Chemical & Fertilisers to make efforts with Pharma manufacturers for bringing down the prices of the injections to make it affordable for a common man.

The price of one injection of Liposomal Salt needed for Black Fungus costs Rs 7,000 and around 70 to 100 injections are required for treatment of a person suffering from the deadly disease. Currently, Cipla, Bharat Serum, Ceylon Labs, Mylan Laboratories, Abbot Laboratories etc are manufacturing this important injection.

CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal and Ashish Grover, National Convener, Pharmaceutical Committee of the CAIT in communication to Mandaviya has drawn his attention towards the shortage of AmbhotericinB-50 mg injections prescribed by the doctors all over the country for treatment of Black Fungus. Since there is a surge in cases of Black Fungus in different States, the demand of these injections has cropped up suddenly to a large extent and unfortunately, these injections are having a shortage in the market which is due to the fact that earlier these injections were not having any substantial demand locally therefore these were being manufactured primarily for export purposes only.

Khandelwal and Grover said as per medical protocol, the Doctors are prescribing 70 to 100 vials of these injections to each person depending upon the severity of the disease thereby making the treatment highly costly and unaffordable for a common man in the Country.

''We have come to know from the market sources that earlier, the Pharma Companies manufacturing these injections were giving these injections in the market at a special price of about Rs 2500-00 per injection,'' they added.

CAIT National President B C Bhartia said that keeping into consideration, the high quantity of injections to be required for every patient and in order to make prices of these injections affordable, the CAIT has urged the Government to take up this matter with the pharma companies who are manufacturing these injections and in the wake of current pandemic, take the supply of these injections under the control of the government and these injections should be supplied directly to hospitals.

''In such a case, since the distribution chain will not be in between, the government may negotiate the price with the manufacturers which should come down to at least Rs 2000-oo per injection and thus it will be affordable for even a common man,'' he suggested.