Favipiravir drug working better on Covid patients

Hyderabad: City-based pharma firm Raghava Life Sciences Pvt Limited (RLS), which is into API production, on Wednesday claimed Favipiravir antiviral drug has been producing better results in treating Covid-19 patients compared to Remdesivir which is current under clinical trials in the US.

"The clinical trials done using Favipiravir have so far shown positive results. Published results of a clinical trial of Favipiravir indicate that out of 80 patients, 35 who took the drug demonstrated significantly shorter viral clearance time compared to those who didn't. The recovery period was shortened by four days from 11," Lohit Reddy P, Director, RLS, said in a statement.

The seven-day day clinical recovery rate also increased from 55.86 per cent to 71.43 per cent, he added.

Favipiravir, an antiviral medication used to treat influenza in Japan, is a generic version of Avian. At present, the drug is being studied as an experimental drug in treating the novel corona virus disease in China and other countries. Reddy said that RLS is one of the first few companies in India to commercialise Favipiravir API (active pharmaceutical ingredient). "We are in talks with major formulation companies within India and outside the country to manufacture Favipiravir tablets. It is a better and cheaper alternative to Remedesivir," he said.

The company has decided to go for backward integration in its manufacturing process. "All the raw materials used for the API are sourced within India, thereby having no dependency on China for any raw materials. The company considers this a major achievement for its and the industry to a make step towards independency from the Chinese pharmaceutical industry," he said.