Favipiravir

GLENMARK TESTS FAVIPIRAVIR AS A COVID-19 TREATMENT

Favipiravir is a pyrazine carboxamide derivative which is an antiviral medication. It is used in Japan to treat Influenza. It is also known as T-705, favipira, favilavir and sold under the brand names Avigan, Abigan and FabiFlu. It is most commonly used against West Nile virus, yellow fever as well as Bunyavirus or arenavirus and also for people infected with Ebola. Favipiravir is indicated for novel influenza (strains that cause more severe disease) rather than seasonal influenza.

CHEMICAL FORMULA: C5H4FN3O2                                                                                          

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Research on Favipiravir Drug 

Glenmark pharmaceuticals has developed active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and formulation of favipiravir drug in its own inhouse R&D team. When the drug is administered, API is converted into an active phosphoribosylated form (favipiravir-RTP) in cell. The viral RNA polymerase recognizes active phosphoribosylated form as a substrate, thereby inhibits RNA polymerase activity.

Company claims that drug has shown clinical improvement in mild to moderate COVID-19 cases up to 88%, by active reduction in viral load by 4 days. Favipiravir drug can also be used in COVID-19 patients along with co-morbid conditions like diabetes and heart diseases as long as they have mild to moderate corona virus symptoms. Orally administered favipiravir drug serves as convenient treatment than intravenous administration.

Favipiravir drug is available as a prescription-based medication and marketed under the brand name FabiFlu with the dose of 1800mg twice a day on day one, followed by 800mg twice a day up to 14 days.

Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI)- India’s drug regulator has approved for the production of favipiravir drug by Glenmark pharmaceuticals for the clinical trial and it has become the first pharmaceutical company in India to supply oral antiviral favipiravir in the country for treatment of mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19.                                                     

How does FAVIPIRAVIR act against COVID-19?

Generally, virus is a kind of genetic material made of either DNA / RNA viruses. Favipiravir works on RNA viruses.

Favipiravir drug has unique mode of action against covid-19, once it enters inside the host cell it prevents the virus from replicating by targeting a key protein enzyme RNA polymerase which is used by the virus to multiply its genetic material (RNA) inside the body. It offers rapid reduction in viral load within four days and provides faster symptomatic and radiological improvement and it has shown effectiveness across 20 – 90 years of age groups. 

Glenmark said that drug should not be administered in patients with severe kidney and liver impairment, or pregnant and lactating women because the teratogen in the drug causes abnormalities in a fetus which is potentially toxic to growing embryo.

Glenmark has also proposed the combination of two drugs i.e. favipiravir and umifenovir. These two drugs act on different mechanism, but combined use offers a comprehensive antiviral  cover on pre-entry and post-entry life cycle of SARS-CoV-2 virus.

                                         

YESHASWINI ASAPU

B.PHARMACY

GITAM UNIVERSITY