Converge Biotech, a leading healthcare company based at Hyderabad, has announced the launch of generic Favipiravir tablet in India. It will be marketed under the brand name ‘VERGIFLU’ and is indicated for use in mild to moderate COVID-19 patients. Vergiflu is orally administered making it a convenient treatment option.

Favipiravir is an off patent; broad spectrum oral anti-viral drug backed by strong clinical evidence and has been shown to hasten clinical recovery in COVID -19 patients with mild to moderate symptoms. The drug is already approved for novel or re-emerging pandemic influenza virus infection in Japan since 2014, where high recovery rates have been reported with both 7 and 14 days of therapy in both mild and moderate patients. The drug has shorter viral clearance and faster recovery rate and is reported to have a wide therapeutic safety margin for COVID-19 dose.

The mechanism of action of Favipiravir is novel compared to existing influenza antivirals that primarily prevent entry and exit of the virus from cells. The drug has high affinity to RNA virus specific RNA polymerase and gets converted into an active phosphoribosylated form (favipiravir-RTP) in cells thereby inhibiting RNA polymerase activity.

The product is available from today in all major hospitals across the country. It will be sold only on prescription and the company will make sure that the drug is available to the patients.

Converge Biotech also has Prabinex HD (Injection vitamins c 1.5 g), Doxiverge (Inj Doxycycline 100 mg) and Oxihalt (Inj Glutathione 600mg) for hospitalised patients along with immunity boosters, Prabinex 500 mg (Tab Vitamin C 500mg) and Prabinex Z (Tab Vitamin C 500mg with Zinc 20mg); Divify (Vitamin D3 strips) and Tancyvit (Multivitamin).