Operations resume at Jubilant pharma company in Mysuru

Over 70 people connected to the firm had tested positive for COVID-19.

Jubilant Generics Ltd., the pharmaceutical company in Nanjangud near here, which was at the epicentre of COVID-19 outbreak in Mysuru, has resumed operations after a gap of almost two and a half months.

The permission for resumption of operations was accorded after a panel of officials from seven different departments submitted individual reports to the district administration last week, expressing satisfaction over the action plan proposed by the company to implement measures in line with the guidelines issued Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru Abhiram G. Sankar confirmed that permission had been given to Jubilant Generics Ltd. to resume operations.

Company sources also told

The Hindu on Tuesday that operations had resumed at the plant, which had recently entered into an agreement with Gilead Sciences, USA, for manufacture and sale of Remdesivir, a drug that has currently been approved in Japan as a treatment for patients infected with SARS-COV-2, the virus causing COVID-19.

Production had been suspended at Jubilant ever since one of its employees tested positive for COVID-19 on March 26. Subsequently, more than 70 people connected to the company tested positive for the virus, contributing to Mysuru’s emergence as one of the hotspots for COVID-19.

While all the 1,552 employees of the company were quarantined and tested, the authorities sent carried out an investigation into the source of the outbreak. The raw material imported by the company from China, which was initially suspected to be the source, too tested negative after a sample was sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune. An inquiry ordered by the State government into the outbreak was also given up without identifying the source of infection.

Meanwhile, the panel of officials from Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, Departments of Industries, Police, Health, Revenue, Factories and Boilers, besides the Executive Officer Nanjangud Taluk Panchayat carried out individual inspection of the factory premises to check the safety measures taken by the company to resume production.

Their reports were discussed at a meeting convened by Deputy Commissioner last week before a formal nod was given to go ahead with production.

At its plant in Nanjangud, Jubilant manufactures critical life-saving Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) essential for treatment of various diseases including Azithromycin Dihydrate and Azithromycin Monohydrate API’s that are being studied as potential first line agents for the treatment of COVID-19.

“The whole world is dealing with unprecedented situation brought on by the rapidly evolving pandemic of COVID-19 and Jubilant also was impacted by this at its Nanjangud facility,” read a statement from the company.

“Going forward, the company has worked out a detailed robust plan for preventive measures in line with MHA/DGHS guidelines and IPA protocol. COVID-19 is a pandemic of such proportion that it does not differentiate between people and affects people of all strata equally. In order to fight this global menace by ensuring availability of many life saving APIs, the company has resumed operations of Jubilant Generics, Nanjangud,” the statement added.