A Luxembourg-based phytochemical and chemical pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution group C2 PHARMA s.a.r.l. (C2P), is announcing that they will open the door to access safety stocks of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), Digoxin. Earlier in March, the API was listed for its potential to reduce the symptoms of COVID-19 patients in combination with other anti-viral drugs based on initial research in South Korea and India1.
Digoxin is extracted from the digitalis lanata plant. Due to the structure of the ingredient, it cannot be manufactured synthetically, so there is no way for API manufacturers to respond quickly to demand peaks. As the leading manufacturer of Digoxin API for the pharmaceutical industry, C2 PHARMA holds safety stocks to ensure supply as a standard operating procedure. Based on initial findings of ongoing research, the company has decided to open its safety stocks of Digoxin API to governments and to the global research community in order to meet any peaks in demand. In parallel, C2 PHARMA is offering samples of Digoxin API free of charge to bona fide members of the research community and clinicians working on COVID-19 efficacy trials.
Andrew Badrot, CEO of C2 PHARMA said that, “In this moment, we see the real-life value of implementing stringent risk mitigation strategies and how they impact the global healthcare system in a time of crisis,” Business continuity and redundancy are cornerstones of the C2 PHARMA manufacturing approach and apply to our complete portfolio of APIs, including Digoxin. As a supplier, we feel that releasing our Digoxin API safety stocks is a responsibility to our industry and ultimately to the patients that it may help at this critical time.”
