Faviravir: everything you need to know about the new drug Covid-19 and its effects on patients

Faviravir: everything you need to know about the new drug Covid-19 and its effects on patients

Bombay-based Glenmark Pharmaceuticals received approval from the Indian General Pharmacist to manufacture and market Favipiravir, an antiviral drug, for the treatment of patients with Covid-19. The drug is likely to be available on the market in the coming days. What is this medicine and what improvement has it shown in patients with Covid-19? News18 explains:

What is faviravir?

Favipiravir is an antiviral and influenza-approved medication for Japan. It is currently being tested in 18 clinical trials of Covid-19 and the results of two studies have shown positive results, while data from other trials is pending.

What is approved by Glenmark by the Indian Superintendent of Drugs?

Based on Stage 3 data, the company obtained approval to manufacture and market Favipiravir antivirals, which have been described as FabiFlu, which is an oral medication. Restricted-use emergency consent only for moderate-to-moderate Covid-19 patients. Restricted use of consent requires the use of responsible medications, as each patient must have had informed consent before starting treatment.

According to a press release issued by Glenmark on Saturday, June 20, the company has successfully developed the active pharmaceutical ingredient and the FabiFlu formula through its in-house research and development team.

"Glenmark introduced the product for the clinical trial with DCGI, India, and became the first pharmaceutical company in India to obtain approval for stage 3 clinical trials of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19," the statement said. press.

What improvement has it shown in patients with Covid-19 and what studies has Glenmark cited?

Glenmark claimed that Favipiravir showed clinical improvements of up to 88 percent on Covid-19, with a rapid decrease in viral load over four days. The drug will be available as a prescription drug for Rs 103 / tablet, with a recommended dose of 1800 mg twice daily on the first day, followed by 800 mg twice daily until day 14.

In India, a multicenter randomized study was conducted in Indian patients to assess the efficacy and safety of the drug with the standard of care versus the standard of care only in moderate Covid-19, according to the company. The study included 150 patients. Details of the study have yet to be published in a peer-reviewed article.

The company cited its press release with four studies: two from China and one from Russia and Japan. A study of 80 patients in China studied the efficacy of faviravir against the antiretroviral drugs lopinavir and ritonavir. Treatment with faviravir resulted in a faster decrease in viral load compared to other drugs. In the second Chinese study, 236 patients were enrolled.

Faviravir showed a better clinical recovery rate on the seventh day compared to omefenover, another antiviral medication. It also leads to faster relief from fever and cough. An observational study in Japan of 2,114 patients with mild to moderate symptoms showed clinical improvement with faviravir.

Is the government conducting experiments to test the effectiveness of this drug?

Yes. The Scientific and Industrial Research Council (CSIR) conducted a comprehensive synthesis of favi-seravir in April. Earlier this week, CSIR obtained DGCI approval to conduct multi-stage trials of the drug's second stage.