The lockdown due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak has severely hampered the supply of anti- tuberculosis (TB) drugs to the Central government’s National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP). This has prompted the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to demand that anti-TB drug exports be prohibited, in a bid to normalise supplies required for Indian patients.

Leading anti-TB drugs manufacturers Macleods and Lupin — with factories at Ankleshwar and Bharuch in Gujarat, Baddi in Himachal Pradesh and Daman in Daman and Diu — have written to the MoHFW stating that in view of the emergency measures undertaken, availability of manpower and material to the pharmaceutical industry is limited, affecting their production capacity.

The suppliers have said that anti-TB drug supplies will be delayed due to the ‘force majeure’ triggered by Covid-19, which has resulted in limited availability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), lack of manpower and curtailed transport facilities.

In response, Preeti Sudan, Secretary, MoHFW, requested Parameswaran Iyer, Chair, Empowered Group, which is facilitating supply chain and logistic management, to issue directions to the Department of Pharmaceuticals and Department of Commerce for their intervention in this regard and issue necessary directions for prohibiting export of anti-TB medicines.

“The Chief Secretaries should instruct the authorities concerned to ensure that transportation services are available to maintain supplies of finished products, and that related officials, workers and labourers are able to reach the manufacturing plant of these companies,” Sudan further stated in the letter.

“The drugs are essential for the treatment of TB patients under the NTEP and delay in production and receipt of supply may cause acute shortages of these drugs in the field. Such a situation will worsen the treatment of TB patients within the country,” Sudan has said.