Cipla gets DCGI nod to sell Favipiravir under brand 'Ciplenza' for COVID-19: To keep cost low

The DCGI has granted regulatory approval to drug maker Cipla Ltd. on Friday for the launch of Favipiravir in the country under the brand name Ciplenza to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 patients.

The accelerated approval for manufacturing and marketing of the drug is aimed at meeting the urgent and unmet medical need for COVID-19 treatment options in the country through restricted emergency use. @Shutterstock

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists have been working round the clock to find a vaccine and cure for the deadly disease. They have also been looking at existing drugs that can be repurposed for treatment of patients with varying degrees of severity. There have been many false hopes along the way. But they kept their efforts going and have today come up with quite a few medications that can help in treatment of COVID-19 patients. Besides trying to find a drug that can treat severe cases, experts are also constantly trying to find a drug that can offer relief to patients with mild to moderate symptoms.

In India too, scientists have been working tirelessly to do just this. They have also identified many such drugs and have sought approval from the Drug Controller General of India to manufacture and market the same for COVID-19 patients. With number of confirmed cased now inching towards 14 lakhs, this is indeed the need of the hour. In light of this, drug maker Cipla Ltd. on Friday said it has received regulatory approval from Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for the launch of Favipiravir in the country under the brand name Ciplenza to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 patients. Favipiravir is an off patent, oral antiviral drug that has been shown to hasten clinical recovery in COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate symptoms.

Accelerated approval to make drug available for treatment

The accelerated approval for manufacturing and marketing of the drug is aimed at meeting the urgent and unmet medical need for COVID-19 treatment options in the country through restricted emergency use. Cipla said it will commercially launch Ciplenza in the first week of August priced at Rs 68 per tablet.

Cipla to keep price low

The price of Favipiravir has become a matter of great concern in the country as Glenmark Pharmaceuticals faced flak after it initially launched its Favipiravir drug under the brand name FabiFlu at Rs 103 per tablet. Subsequently on July 13, Glenmark reduced the price of FabiFlu to Rs 75 per tablet. Cipla said to ensure fair and equitable distribution of the drug, supplies will be undertaken predominantly through hospital channels and via open channels, prioritised for regions with a high burden of Covid-19 cases.

25 drugs identified for repurposing

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. Towards providing drugs for coronavirus patients in India, CSIR late in April said it had identified top 25 drugs/drug candidates for repurposing.

Among these top 25 drugs, Favipiravir, a broad spectrum inhibitor of viral RNA polymerase emerged as one of the most promising drugs. Favipiravir was developed by Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Ltd., and is used for treatment of common influenza in some markets.

(With inputs from IANS)