Production of black fungus drug to be ramped up over next month amid shortage

As black fungus cases rise and the country faces a shortage of the drug used to treat the rare infection, pharmaceutical companies are ramping up their production of Amphotericin B over the next one month.

As cases of mucormycosis, commonly known as ‘black fungus’, surge across India, many parts of the country are facing a shortage of Amphotericin B. This drug is used to treat the rare fungal infection. In order to ramp up production of the drug, the central government has given license to produce it to five more manufacturers apart from the five existing ones. At present, Bharat Serums and Vaccines, BDR Pharmaceuticals, Sun Pharma, Cipla and Life Care Innovations produce Amphotericin B in India. Mylan imports the anti-fungal drug.