India’s pharma sector needs a shot in the arm to fight the pandemic

As India battles a massive second wave of Covid-19 infections, its drug makers are under pressure to deliver vaccines and medicines.

Called the “pharmacy of the world”, India’s sprawling factories were expected to supply the bulk of Covid-19 vaccines and medicines to the world.

However, a record jump in coronavirus cases in a country of more than 1.3 billion people is putting the sector under strain. India’s health ministry reported 346,786 new infections on Saturday and 224,959 new cases on Sunday.

“The pharmaceutical industry does need to ramp up its infrastructure to facilitate higher production of essential [drugs and vaccines],” says Dr Nikhil Mathur, chief of medical services at the Care Group of Hospitals.

The full article was originally published on The National