Drug firm FDC Ltd has launched two variants of the drug Favipiravir used for the treatment of COVID-19 on Tuesday in India under the brand names PiFLU and Favenza. The tablets cost Rs.55 each.
“Early diagnosis and treatment will help in arresting the deteriorating condition of patients, and we will be working with the government and healthcare fraternity to make Favenza and PiFlu available across the country,” said FDC spokesperson Mayank Tikkha.
The generic versions of Favipiravir have been launched by many companies in India including Dr Reddy’s Laboratory under the name ‘Avigan’ priced at Rs.99 and the Sun Pharmaceuticals industries under the name ‘FluGuard’, at Rs.35 which by far is the cheapest version. The Zendara Pharma is also expected to manufacture and sell Favipiravir under the brand name ‘Favizen’ as it received approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) earlier this month.
The Favipiravir is an off-patent, oral antiviral drug that has been effective in the recovery of COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate symptoms at a faster pace and has been approved earlier by the DCGI for use in India. It has shown positive outcomes in many clinical trials for the treatment of Coronavirus patients and was originally developed in Japan to treat novel influenza.
