New Delhi: Gilead Sciences Inc has signed non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreements with five generic pharmaceutical manufacturers – Cipla Ltd, Jubilant Life Sciences, Hetero Labs Ltd, Mylan and Ferozsons Laboratories – on a royalty-free basis until a new drug or vaccine is developed against Covid-19, the US-based firm said in a release late Tuesday.
The agreements allow the five companies to manufacture remdesivir for distribution in 127 countries, including India, where all the generic companies except Ferozsons Laboratories have manufacturing facilities.
Ferozsons Laboratories is based out of Pakistan. “The licenses are royalty-free until the World Health Organization declares the end of the Public Health Emergency of International