Roche Pharma, the makers of Actemra IV, said on Monday that the company will soon be out of stock with the drug as the demand skyrockets with rise of the Delta variant of Covid around the world.
The rheumatoid arthritis drug, also known as tocilizumab, is being used by doctors to treat serious cases of covid infections as it prevents the fatal side effects of uncontrolled immune response to the virus. As the cases grow at an alarming rate, hospitalizations have already touched the peak reached during the first variant in the US.
Roche's Genentech said in a statement that the requirement of the drug has gone up 400% in recent weeks, and the company, despite involving most of their assets in the production, will not be able to keep up with the demands.
The company is already sold out with the 200 mg and 400 mg variants of the medicine and if the demands keep piling up, the 80mg variant will also go out of stock by the end of this week. Genentech said, "Despite these efforts, we are experiencing a temporary stockout of Actemra IV in the U.S. for 200mg and 400mg SKUs, as of Monday, August 16th, and have notified our customers. We currently have a short supply of the 80mg SKU, and we anticipate stockout by the end of the week."
The supply is supposed to be resumed by the last week of August but looking at the rate at which the virus is spreading, the company warned that there will be "additional periods of stockout in the weeks and months ahead. "
The treatment, first referred to by Chinese doctors in the latter half of 2020, is not yet the most efficient regimen, but it has the backing of the WHO and the Food and Drug Administration with the EU also looking into the use of the medicine for possible treatment.
"We are committed to proactive and timely communication with hospitals, practices, distributors, and pharmacy customers as the situation evolves, and Actemra supply becomes more readily available," Genentech said.
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