ISLAMABAD: The federal government has allowed the duty-free import of Remdesivir – a medicine used in the treatment of coronavirus patients.
According to details, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) today (Tuesday) has issued three notifications in this regard.
The authorities have also allowed duty-and-tax free import of 60 other tools used in the diagnosis and treatment of coronavirus.
According to the notifications, the FBR has exempted the customs duty on the import of Remdesivir. The advance income tax has also been waived on Remdesivir.
The notifications further informed that the government had extended the date for the import of 60 different tools including the kits used for the diagnosis and treatment of Covid-19 until September 30.
Remdesivir is an experimental, broad-spectrum antiviral made by US pharmaceutical Gilead Sciences that was first developed to treat Ebola, a viral hemorrhagic fever.
It showed early promise in a primate study in 2016 and was later rolled out for a major trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it was compared against three other medicines.
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