COVID-19 drug Avigan: Indian generic drugmaker Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories on Wednesday announced the launch of antiviral drug Avigan (favipiravir) tablets, currently being manufactured by Japanese drug giant Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co, for the potential treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19. This comes a month after Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories partnering with Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co and Global Response Aid (GRA) for the development, manufacture, and sale of Avigan. The agreement that the Hyderabad headquartered generic drug maker entered into grants it exclusive rights for India while it grants both Dr. Reddy’s and GRA rights to develop, sell and distribute Avigan in all countries other than Japan, China, and Russia.
Avigan(Favipiravir) has been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 disease. Speaking to reporters, Ramana said: “We are pleased to bring this important innovator medicine to the patients in India. The need for high quality and efficacy, affordability, and better disease management are key priorities for us. We believe that Aviganwould provides an effective treatment option to the COVID-19 impacted patients in India.”
Avigan comes in a complete therapy pack of 122 tablets with a two-year shelf life. To ensure accelerated access to the medicine, Dr. Reddy’s has initiated a free home delivery service in 42 cities in the country, and a Helpline Center between 9 am to 9 pm IST, Monday through Saturday.
The launch is part of the global licensing agreement with FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical Co. Ltd. that grants Dr. Reddy’s exclusive rights to manufacture, sell and distribute AVIGAN (Favipiravir) 200 mg tablets in India, it said.
“We are pleased to bring this important innovator medicine to the patients in India. The need for high quality and efficacy, affordability, and better disease management are key priorities for us. We believe that Avigan would provide an effective treatment option to the COVID-19 impacted patients in India,” said MV Ramana, Chief Executive Officer, Branded Markets (India and Emerging Markets), Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories.
Dr. Reddy’s Avigan comes in a complete therapy pack of 122 tablets with a two-year shelf life. Top drug makers including Lupin, Glenmark, and Sun Pharma have already launched a generic version of the antiviral drug favipiravir to treat COVID-19 in India. Favipiravir and another anti-viral treatment, remdesivir, have emerged as the most sought after medicines to treat COVID-19 in India, which had already approved the drugs as emergency treatments to fight the outbreak.
