Pharmaceutical major Cipla soon to launch Covid-19 drug ‘Favipiravir’ in India

MUMBAI: Pharmaceutical major Cipla will launch Favipiravir in India under the brand name Ciplenza, said on Friday.  As of now they have it has granted regulatory approval by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for the launch of Favipiravir in the country under the brand name Ciplenza.

To meet urgent medical need of the country, cipla will commercially launch Ciplenza in tje first week of August which priced at Rs 68 per tablet, said official statement.

To ensure fair and equitable distribution of the drug, supplies will be undertaken through hospital channels and via open channels, prioritised for regions with a high burden of Covid-19 cases.

The drug has been jointly developed by Cipla and CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT). As part of this partnership, CSIR-IICT has successfully developed a convenient and cost-effective synthetic process for Favipiravir.

The entire process and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) of the drug has been transferred to Cipla to manufacture and market the drug at scale. Favipiravir is an off patent, oral anti-viral drug that has been shown to hasten clinical recovery in Covid-19 patients with mild to moderate symptoms.