Two more pharma companies — Zenara of Hyderabad and Mumbai-headquartered BDR — have received the Drugs Controller General of India’s (DCGI) approval to manufacture Favipiravir tablets as a treatment option for patients with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19.
Formulations maker Zenara Pharma said it would be selling the product under the brand name Favizen. The tablets are being manufactured at its USFDA-approved facility in Hyderabad. The company is expected to announce the price of the product shortly. Co-founder and MD Jagadeesh Babu Rangisetty said, “we are in talks with various institutions to make the tablets available at discounted or no cost to underprivileged patients.” Zenara has in-house API and thus not dependent on any imports for the production. This feature is bound to ensure stability, rapid production and availability of the product in the Indian market, he said.
A statement from Zenara said the company is in talks with multiple state institutions and several hospitals to ensure Favizen is readily available for patients in need. It has the manufacturing and distribution capabilities to improve access to this treatment globally and already begun exports to the Middle East and Latin American countries, the company said.
BDR Pharmaceuticals said it had received DCGI approval to manufacture Favipiravir to treat mild to moderate patient with COVID-19 symptoms under the brand name BDFAVI. This is the second product used in the treatment of COVID-19 that the company is launching. “This approval comes after being one of the first companies to develop Remdesivir in the country,” a release from BDR said. Chairman and managing director Dharmesh Shah said in four months the company has launched the two products to meet the increasing patients needs.
According to sources, BDFAVI tablets will be priced at ₹63 each. The firm has come up with a patient assistance programme that will allow patients/institutions with limited resources to access the product at a subsidised rate.