Hyderabad-based Biophore India Pharmaceuticals has developed and started manufacturing the key intermediates of Nirmatrelvir, one of the active ingredients of Paxlovid, the latest anti-COVID-19 therapy, approved by the US FDA through the emergency use authorisation route.

The manufacturing is being done in collaboration with Rakshit Group. This is expected to greatly reduce the dependence on imports, mainly from China, from where these intermediates are being procured currently. Biophore is also manufacturing Nirmatrelvir in a US FDA compliant facility and has announced that they will be filing for approval with DCGI soon.

Dr Jagadeesh Babu Rangisetty, CEO, Biophore, says, “As and when the product gets approved in India, we can ensure that the manufacturers of this product can be self-reliant from within India itself and not be dependent on imports, which can be tricky in terms of control of quality and supply.”

Rameswara Rao Chandana, Chairman, Rakshit Group, says, “ Manufacturing of these intermediates requires extreme temperatures and large volumes of Lithium reagents and with the above infrastructure that we have, we are well placed to ensure that the requirements for the market can be met locally. With a strong partner such as Biophore, we believe this is a perfect synergy to get these products to the market quickly.”