Antiviral medicine Avigan is being repurposed for COVID treatment
Indian pharmaceutical giant, Dr Reddy's announced the launch of popular anti-viral medicine, Avigan in the market which will be exclusively used for COVID-19 treatment.
While coronavirus cases continue to soar worldwide, medical experts continue to experiment with medications and steroid drugs to combat the many symptoms of COVID-19. Avigan and Remdesivir are currently the two most trusted anti-viral medicines showing good success rates.
Avigan (Favipiravir) was approved for use by DGCI
The pharma company secured the rights from Japan-based Fujifilm Toyama Chemical to exclusively use, produce and distribute Avigan tablets in India. The regulatory authorisation was issued by the Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) couple of months back.
Avigan is an affordable medicine for COVID-19
According to reports, the tablets, which have shown excellent recovery rates will be sold in its 200 mg formulation and will be priced affordably, giving it an edge over other treatment medications. The dosage will cost less than Rs. 100. The drug is being repurposed to treat patients suffering from mild to moderate forms of coronavirus infection.
The tablets would come in a therapy pack of 122 tablets and have a two-year-long shelf life. To facilitate easy access, the drug makers have also launched home delivery in 42 cities across India. The drugs are currently being imported from Japan but the company plans on accelerating production plants in India soon.
Apart from Dr Reddy's, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Cipla and Strides Pharmaceuticals have come out with their version of the anti-viral medication.
What makes Favipiravir an effective COVID-19 medication
Favipiravir, which, in the medical community is known as T-705 or Avigan is a drug which has been widely used to treat viral diseases in the past.
Previous experiments and success rates achieved in beating viral infections seem to favour the usage of Favipiravir in fighting the outbreak. It has been experimentally used to attend to the Ebola crisis, flu outbreaks as well.
How does it work?
The most supportive evidence came from China, where the drug was used by doctors in infection cases. Post administration of the drug, doctors were able to see a significant improvement and recovery from lung damage in hospitalized patients. Continued dosage also led to quicker recovery time as well.
Favipiravir, T-705 is an anti-viral agent which targets the RNA polymerase chain of RNA viruses, such as coronavirus and stops it from replicating inside the body. It is also effective in rooting out certain strains of mutant influenza viruses, apart from other RNA viruses such as bunyaviruses, filoviruses which can have life-threatening implications. Because of these, researchers strongly believe that if given in the right dosage, Favipiravir can be extremely helpful in fighting and treating novel coronavirus.
Are there any possible shortcomings?
The biggest shortcoming of the medication is the little benefit it offers patients who are suffering from severe forms of COVID. Studies and trials conducted shown that the medicine wasn't able to produce similar effort when used on patients in critical conditions, or in cases where viral load had multiplied extensively. Doctors have also raised concerns that there exists no solid proof that favipiravir could stop the infection from coming back. A lot many more controlled trials, such as the ones being conducted in the US and the UK will be needed before avigan can be fully trusted on.