Aspen Pharmacare Holdings is working to ensure it can manage demand for the generic anti-inflammatory drug it makes that was shown to improve survival in Covid-19 patients.<\/p>\n
Africa\u2019s biggest drugmaker has set up a team to assess how much of the 60-year-old drug dexamethasone it can supply and by when chief executive officer Stephen Saad said.<\/p>\n
The low-cost, widely used medicine – also made by rivals including Mylan NV and Merck & Co. – is the first treatment to show life-saving promise for those very ill with the disease, according to data released Tuesday by the University of Oxford.<\/p>\n
Saad said he was as surprised by the news as anyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was looking at CNN and I could see a product on the screen, and it was one of ours,\u201d Saad said in an interview. \u201cDemand needs to be managed in a carefully calculated way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deaths among patients who needed breathing assistance were lower over a period of four weeks when they received the treatment, Oxford researchers said.<\/p>\n
Aspen, based in Durban, South Africa, makes the injectable and tablet forms of the medicine, both in its own factories and through outsourcing. The company is now \u201cstress-testing all of our supply chain,\u201d Saad said.<\/p>\n
Aspen needs to be able to assess what the genuine demand is so it can decide whether to dedicate a greater proportion of manufacturing to this drug versus others, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very moving target at the moment,\u201d Saad said. \u201cIt becomes quite chaotic and panicky around the world with these things.\u201d\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n
Aspen\u2019s shares rose 9.3% in Johannesburg on Wednesday, the biggest jump in almost three months.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s one of several companies to make the generic drug, which U.K. officials said will cost less than 5 pounds ($6) for a course of treatment.<\/p>\n
Dexamethasone is used to treat a range of ailments including rheumatism, asthma and allergies, and also to help cancer patients manage the nausea triggered by chemotherapy.<\/p>\n
The Oxford researchers said the drug may help coronavirus patients cope with a powerful overreaction of the immune system.<\/p>\n
Britain has stockpiled more than 200,000 courses of dexamethasone after spotting its potential, according to UK health secretary Matt Hancock.<\/p>\n
\u201cBetween all the global sites, we certainly have got access to decent volumes that will be very helpful on a global basis,\u201d Saad said. \u201cBut we\u2019ve got to find if we have all the components that are required.\u201d<\/p>\n