Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories on Wednesday said it had joined hands with Japan’s Fujifilm Toyama Chemical and the Dubai-based Global Response Aid (GRA) to develop, manufacture and sell the Japanese firm’s antiviral drug, Avigan, that has emerged a potential treatment of COVID-19.
Under the agreement signed on Tuesday, Fujifilm granted Dr. Reddy’s the exclusive rights of manufacturing. It also granted both Dr. Reddy’s and GRA the rights to develop, sell and distribute Avigan in all countries other than Japan, China and Russia.
Fujifilm would receive an upfront licence fee and royalties on sales from Dr. Reddy’s and GRA. The generic name of Avigan is Favipiravir.
In a statement, the Hyderabad-headquartered pharma major said Fujifilm would provide the company and GRA with data it had accumulated on Avigan. Fujifilm would also grant Dr.Reddy’s the right to use Avigan’s patents of formulation and manufacturing method.
Dr. Reddy’s would establish a setup for manufacturing drugs of the same quality as Avigan and utilise GRA’s global sales network to supply the manufactured drugs swiftly and in a stable manner, the release said.
The Fujifilm Group is conducting a clinical study on Avigan targeting COVID-19 patients in Japan and the U.S. Avigan tablet was developed by Fujifilm Toyama Chemical and had been approved for manufacture and sale in Japan in 2014 as an influenza antiviral drug.
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