First copies of gilead virus drug to start selling in Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd. said it has become the world’s first company to start selling the generic version of Gilead Sciences Inc.’s antiviral drug on mounting urgency to treat the infection caused by the deadly coronavirus across the developing world.

The Dhaka-based Beximco, which counts Norges Bank as one of its investors, will sell remdesivir for about 6,000 taka ($71) a vial to private clinics but will give it free to state-run hospitals treating Covid-19 patients, Rabbur Reza, chief operating officer at the company, said in an interview. A critically ill Covid-19 patient will need at least six vials, he said.