Zydus Cadila has received emergency use approval from DCGI recently for the use of ‘Virafin’ (pegylated interferon-alpha-2b-PegIFN) for vaccinating adults. The company said that when administered early on during the COVID-19, Virafin will help recover patients faster and avoid most of the complications. In a media statement, Cadila Health highlighted that the drug also showed efficacy for other viral infections.
“The fact that we can offer therapy which significantly reduces the viral load when administered early on, can help in better management of disease”, said Dr Sharvi Patel, Managing Director, Cadila Healthcare Limited. She added that the therapy comes at a “much-needed” time for patients and that they will continue to give access to critical therapies in this “battle against COVID-19”.
In its Phase-III clinical trials, the therapy had shown better results in the patients suffering from COVID-19. During the trials, it was observed that patients who were administered with PegiFN (Virafin), were RT-PCR negative by day 7. A press release by the company stated that the drug ensures faster viral clearance and has several add-on advantages, compared to other anti-viral agents.
The development comes at a time when India is facing the second wave of coronavirus. The country has recorded 2,263 deaths in the last 24 hours. As many as 1,86,920 people have given up their lives to the infection in India so far. As of now, the country has 24,28,616 active COVID-19 cases
