C2 PHARMA s.a.r.l. (C2P), a Luxembourg-based phytochemical and chemical pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution group, is announcing that they will open access to safety stocks of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), Digoxin. In early 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.

"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," said Andrew Badrot, CEO of C2 PHARMA. "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."

Verified government and research contacts may reach out to the company directly at Covid19-Digoxin@c2pharma.com to inquire about supply. The team at C2 PHARMA will provide updates on developments as they are available. 

¹Scientific References:

• March 2020: Screening of FDA-approved drugs using a MERS-CoV clinical isolate from South Korea identifies potential therapeutic options for COVID-19; Meehyun Koa, So Young Changa, Soo Young Byunb, Inhee Choic, Anne-Laure Pham Hung d’Alexandry d’Orengiania, David Shumb, Ji-Young Mina, and Marc P. Windisch

• March 2020: Virtual Screening based prediction of potential drugs for COVID-19
  Dr. Talluri Sekhar

• 26 March 2020: https://www.novochizol.ch/why-digoxin/; Dr. Vanya Loroch

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