ZydusCadila on Friday announced it has received restricted Emergency Use Approvalfrom the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for the use of antiviral 'Virafin'in treating moderate Covid-19 infection in adults.
Thesingle dose subcutaneous regimen of the anti-viral drug reduced the need forsupplemental oxygen, indicating that it was able to control respiratorydistress and failure -- one of the major challenges in treating Covid-19,according to results of a multicentric trial conducted in 20-25 centres acrossIndia.
About91.15 per cent of patients treated with the drug were RT-PCR negative by dayseven, the company said in a statement.
Thedrug has also shown efficacy against other viral infections, it added. It willbe available on the prescription of a medical specialist for use inhospital/institutional setup.
"Thefact that we are able to offer a therapy which significantly reduces viral loadwhen given early on can help in better disease management. It comes at amuch-needed time for patients and we will continue to provide them access tocritical therapies in this battle against Covid-19," Dr Sharvil Patel,Managing Director, Cadila Healthcare Ltd, said in a statement.
Inits Phase 3 clinical trials, the therapy showed better clinical improvement inthe patients suffering from Covid-19.
Earlierthe Phase 2 clinical trials study established the early safety, efficacy andtolerability of Virafin and indicated that Pegylated Interferon alpha-2b hadsignificant statistical clinical impact on the patient suffering from moderateCovid 19 disease by reducing their viral load helping in better diseasemanagement such as reduced duration of oxygen support.