1. Home
  2. COVID-19

Hetero’s response to the challenges surrounding COVID-19 pandemic

Hetero’s response to the challenges surrounding COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic is one of the major global health crises of our times with the world continuing to reel under its impact. Since the onset of this pandemic, Hetero has been proactive in responding to the various challenges surrounding it. By asserting our role as a caring employer, committed pharmaceutical organization and a responsible corporate citizen, the entire team of Hetero is playing their part in helping the world to cope with the pandemic. We also express our sincere gratitude to all those on the frontlines around the globe who are relentlessly working to care and contain the spread of this pandemic.

Ensuring Employees’ health & safety

We have aligned our operations in accordance with local government and health authority guidelines to protect the health and well-being of our employees across the world. We have put in place adequate safeguards and measures like thermal screening, split shifts, allowing remote operations (wherever feasible), provision of masks & sanitizers, implementing social distancing norms and frequent disinfection drives at all our facilities and offices to minimize the risk of transmission. We have formed a dedicated task force comprising of Senior Management Members, EHS, HR and Security at respective places for overseeing strict implementation of the guidelines.

Despite the overwhelming challenges, our employees, through their committed efforts, are enabling Hetero to deliver life-saving medicines to the world.

Ensuring uninterrupted Production & supply chain

To help the world fight against this epidemic, the company has been ensuring adequate supplies of essential medicines such as Hydroxychloroquine Sulphate, Oseltamivir and Lopinavir/Ritonavir to health authorities both in India and other countries across the globe. While containing and supporting the combat against COVID-19 remains our utmost priority, there are other life-threatening diseases like Cancer, HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis etc. which require access to affordable medicines. Being one of the largest generics manufacturer, we are carrying out our production operations to meet the needs of patients suffering from such critical illnesses. With 40%* of identified HIV/AIDS patients depending on our drugs, we have a heightened responsibility on our shoulders.

Our production, supply chain and logistics teams have been working in tandem to ensure that life-saving medicines are in adequate supply for enabling our partners and healthcare providers meet the needs of patients across the world.

Community outreach

We at Hetero are doing our bit to reach out to communities affected by the pandemic. We have contributed to a tune of INR 10 crores and 8 crores to CM Relief Funds of Telangana & Andhra Pradesh States respectively to support their various initiatives to combat the disease. The company extended its support in the form of cash and by supplying essential medicines.

Additionally, through our CSR arm, we have been implementing a host of community outreach initiatives in many locations where we have our presence. We are reaching out to those working on the frontlines like Healthcare & Sanitation Workers, Police, Public Servants and Medical Professionals with PPEs, Masks, Sanitizers and Medicines. Besides undertaking disinfection drives in villages adjoining our Nakkapalli facility, we have also provided dry provisions to about 20,000 families in those villages in collaboration with Visakhapatnam District Administration. We hope to continue extending our support to the cause in the future too.

Launch of COVID-19 drugs – Covifor (Remdesivir) and Favivir (Favipiravir)

At Hetero, we placed the onus on achieving self-reliance for raw material development for few years back as a part of our long-term growth strategy. Fortunately, this has come as a shot in the arm for us as we managed to have uninterrupted production during the lockdown. The highlight of it all being the launch of Hetero’s Covifor TM – the first generic of Remdesivir in India for treatment of
COVID-19 patients hospitalized with severe symptoms of the disease.

This product was developed completely in-house using indigenous processes, materials & technology – in line with the Make-in-India Campaign envisioned by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. As of today, we are among the largest manufacturers of Remdesivir globally. Our vast experience in R&D, strong vertical integration capabilities to meet the global demand, and our ability to forge trusted global partnerships played an enabling role at times of pandemics in the present as well as in the past.

We also have launched Favipiravir in quick succession for the treatment of mild-to-moderate patients improving treatment accessibility to a significant amount of COVID-19 patient population.

Manufacturing Partnership for ‘Sputnik V’ vaccine

Illustrating our continuous commitment to play our part in the global fight against the pandemic, Hetero has entered into an agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) as a manufacturing partner for producing 100 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine per year. This development also showcases Hetero’s enduring spirit of collaboration and penchant for contributing to global health and well-being.

We at Hetero remain steadfast to our commitment to support all our stakeholders including partners, patients, employees, and community at large. We will continue to work around the challenges posed by this pandemic and will give our best to ensure access to affordable medicines.

We would be updating our stakeholders on our efforts on an ongoing basis as an when things evolve. We sincerely hope that our world recovers from this unprecedented crisis and gets back to its feet soon.

Entered into a voluntary licensing agreement with MPP to expand access of nirmatrelvir & ritonavir generics for COVID-19 treatment in 95 countries

Launched Movfor (Molnupiravir 200 mg) to treat high-risk adult patients with COVID-19 following a voluntary licensing agreement with MSD for the manufacturing and distribution of the investigational oral therapeutic.

Stay Safe. Stay Healthy.

Explore more

Know more about us

Read More