What's the link between COVID drug Remdesivir and electoral bonds?
The drug was found to be ineffective against COVID, as flagged by WHO; pharma firms producing were also major donors to parties, claims YouTuber Dhruv Rathee
Even as the country grappled with multiple waves of COVID-19, little did people of India know how electoral bonds would come to the 'rescue' of pharma companies churning out not-so-effective drugs to combat the pandemic.
So, what is the connection between COVID-19 drug Remdesivir and electoral bonds? A lot, if you go by reports which are analysing the controversial electoral bond scheme.
What's the issue?
Dhruv Rathee, YouTuber, vlogger and social media activist, in his latest video Electoral Bonds, the Pharma Files, says electoral bonds facilitated "big scams" involving pharmaceutical firms that “played with the lives of Indians”.
The focus is on how COVID drug Remdesivir, flagged by a state regulator for causing fever and oxygen reduction in patients, continued to be used, with its production even being ramped up.
There was also a World Health Organisation (WHO) study saying Remdesivir was found ineffective to treat COVID. But, thanks to electoral bonds, the drug continued to be manufactured, sold and used in the country, says Rathee in his exposé.
Among the pharma firms that manufactured Remdesivir, an antiviral drug widely used to treat COVID-19 in India, is Gujarat-based Zydus Cadilla.
What went wrong?
During the second wave of the pandemic, hospitals in Uttar Pradesh found that patients who took this drug developed high fever and their oxygen levels dropped.
Rathee says that besides Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan, among others, witnessed similar reactions from patients who had taken a particular batch of Remdesivir – V100500.
The Bihar state regulator raised a red flag with the Gujarat Food and Drugs Control Administration (FDCA), claiming that the drug, on testing, contained bacterial endotoxins, which can cause fever and taken in excess lead to septic shock. A case was even filed against the company in the Patna civil court, according to Rathee.
It was the Gujarat FDCA’s responsibility to check if the company was meeting the quality standards since it had given the licence to the company to manufacture these medicines, he says. But the state FDCA simply failed to do so and there is no proof that the medicines were recalled, he adds.
However, a Cadila spokesperson has reportedly denied these allegations.
What did WHO flag?
In November 2020, WHO had conducted a study on Remdevisir involving 14,000 people from 450 hospitals in 300 countries and found the medicine had no significant effect on COVID patients.
Yet, in April 2021, completely disregarding the WHO study, the Narendra Modi government approved the ramping up of the production of Remdesivir, originally developed by an American company.
A press release was issued by the government to this effect as seven companies in India had been given licence to manufacture the drug.
What's the electoral bonds connection?
In October 2022, Zydus Cadilla donated ₹18 crore via electoral bonds to the BJP.
It also gave ₹3 crore to the Congress, which was in power in Rajasthan at that time, and ₹8 crore to the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, an ally of the BJP. Interestingly, four pharma companies have donated to this party in Sikkim, which notably is known as a pharma hub.
According to Rathee, an analysis of electoral bonds data reveals that Indian pharmaceutical companies had donated to the tune of ₹945 crore to political parties via electoral bonds.
But, pertinently, many of them, like Cadilla, were in the crosshairs with the state food and drugs regulating authorities, and under the scanner for manufacturing sub-standard drugs.
How did the Remdesivir saga continue?
The Maharashtra FDA issued six notices to the Hyderabad-based Hetero Group for its "sub-standard" drugs. Three were about Remdevisir (which helped the company expand its business) and others for antifungal medicine, a bacterial infection drug and Itbor capsule, it has been reported.
A lab test conducted by the Maharashtra FDA found that a Remdesivir sample had yellow-coloured liquid instead of clear liquid. A notice regarding this was issued to Hetero in July 2021. A second sample had less than required quantity of the drug and a notice was issued in October that year. A third sample of Remdesivir was found “not of standard quality”, with a notice issued in December 2021, according to reports.
The Telangana regulator also did not take any action against the company, said reports. Instead, the company allegedly quietly revoked the medicines found sub-standard in Maharashtra and bought electoral bonds.
According to a media report, this Hyderabad-based company in April 2022 donated ₹40 crore through electoral bonds to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which was the ruling party in Telangana. The bonds were purchased through a series of sister companies with common directors on the board.
Were there more instances?
There is also the case of Mumbai-based Cipla, which got four show cause notices from the state FDA for its medicines, said media reports. In August 2018, it received a notice for its RC cough syrup, which failed to meet the quality standards. However, in July 2021, it got two notices, twice for its drug Remdevisir.
Cipla donated ₹39.2 crore, out of which ₹37 crore went to the BJP and ₹2.2 crore to the Congress.
There are other pharma companies like Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Torrent Pharma, who have also made donations via electoral bonds. Four notices were served between 2022 and 2023 to Glenmark for its “substandard” blood pressure regulating drug by the Maharashtra FDA. In November 2022, the company donated ₹9.75 crore to the BJP via electoral bonds.
Torrent Pharma, also Gujarat-based, had failed the salicylic acide test for its antiplatelet medicine, Deplatt 150. The Maharashtra FDA declared it substandard in 2018. In October 2019, the American FDA too warned the company of “repeated quality failure” in manufacturing. What happens next?
Between May 2019 to January 2024, the company has donated ₹77.5 crore via electoral bonds, of which ₹61 crore went to the BJP.
What else did Rathee say?
The Congress alleged "underhand deals" between the government and the pharmaceutical companies so that they can carry out their businesses after giving donations to the ruling party, 'Chando do, Dhando log'.
In his video, Rathee has slammed the Centre for facilitating this "big scam".
He alleges that the Union government also passed legislation in August 2023 to ease the penalities on drugmakers for manufacturing low-quality drugs. These amendments to existing laws will help pharma companies to settle out of court instead of being jailed, he says.
