Avoid over-reliance on foreign drugs in COVID-19 treatment: Bombay High Court

The Bench said that the government must tell the citizens about other locally-manufactured, cheaper and widely-available drugs that can be used instead.

Stating that over-reliance on imported drugs must be avoided, the Bombay High Court has asked the Centre and the Maharashtra government to create awareness about suitable alternatives to foreign-manufactured medicines, such as Tocilizumab, that can be used for treating patients. A Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G. S. Kulkarni said that in light of the shortage of Tocilizumab, the government must tell the citizens about other locally- manufactured, cheaper and widely-available drugs that can be used instead. “The Government of India, having placed on record its stand that Itolizumab, Dexamethasone, and Methylprednisolone are equivalent and/or better than Tocilizumab, it is high time all-out efforts are made by it as well as the Sstate to remove the incorrect public perception that has since been created that only Tocilizumab can treat the inflammatory burst conditions in patients,” the high court said.