Amphotericin is the new Remdesivir
. With the drug
in short supply, people are taking to social media
to procure it and its a sellers market out thereAfter Remdesivir and oxygen, now there is a mad scramble for Amphotericin, the drug that is prescribed to treat black fungus or Mucormycosis
. This is a fungal infection that affects people who are on medication, immunosuppressed patients, long-stay ICU patients
and patients who have had organ transplants.
With Mucormycosis cases increasing, social media is flooded with requests for this antifungal medicine. Doctors say it is a rarely used drug and it is not available with local vendors. Foreign supplies have not reached Indian shores yet and the waiting list for this drug is long. Tejesh T, a college student said, My friend requires 24 vials of Amphotericin and doctors say that it is not available. So, I have taken the social media route to reach out to friends and pharmacists if they can provide me with some leads on how to get it.
Ramesh S, a techie said, I received a message from my friend saying that he needs 80 vials of Amphotericin. It surprised me as each vial costs Rs 7,000 and if that person requires 80, then he has to shell out Rs 5.6 lakh. Is this an attempt to hoard the drug?
If you open social media platforms, one sees nothing but requests for Amphotericin. A few weeks ago, there was high demand for Remdesivir and the prices being quoted were extremely high. Now, the same is happening with Amphotericin
Divya S, a homemaker said, If you open social media platforms, one sees nothing but requests for Amphotericin. It looks like Amphotericin is the new Remdesivir. A few weeks ago, there was high demand for Remdesivir and the prices being quoted were extremely high. Now, the same is happening with Amphotericin.
City doctors say that Amphotericin B is the only proven anti-fungal medication that works in this kind of invasive fungus. There are three kinds of amphotericin B.
Liposomal amphotericin B is the best in quality because of which it is expensive. The adverse effects in Liposomal amphotericin B are very low, making it the most preferred form. There is a shortage in the market for this medication, say doctors.
The supply of Amphotericin needs to be ramped up but black fungus cases are increasing across the State and country. On Wednesday, Union Minister of State, Mansukh Mandaviya
said that the Government
was monitoring the supply of each covid essential drug by implementing a three-pronged strategy of Supply Chain Management
, Demand Side Management and Affordability. As Amphotericin is categorised as a non-protocol drug, the production has ramped up more than three times in a month which speaks volumes of the demand for this drug. Currently, 3.80 lakh vials are in production and 3 lakh vials are being imported. A total 6.80 lakh vials will be available in the country shortly. Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwathnarayan who heads the covid task force said that the Centre
has allocated 1,000 vials of Amphotericin while the efforts were on to ramp up supplies.
Many city doctors say that there is a rise in invasive fungal infections like mucormycosis which is associated with high mortality and morbidity. It tends to involve the sinuses, eye and brain. Covid-19 beats down immunity and together with diabetes, malignancy and after organ transplants, some medications may predispose certain patients to the increased susceptibility to such infections. Other fungal infections like aspergillus which has a tropism for the lungs are also being increasingly picked up. These infections can significantly alter the course of the illness in patients while recovering from covid if it is not picked up earlier.