The entire world is hustling day and night to find a cure for the deadly coronavirus and put an end to this pandemic. Every country is in a race against time to devise a vaccine. And while WHO has claimed that there will be no “silver bullet” against the coronavirus, India is still clinging to the hope of ending the pandemic with a new drug. Yes, you heard it right. Indian scientists have come up with a new drug named “Covihalt” which will cost only Rs. 49 per tablet.
The drug has been developed by the Lupine Pharma Company. This is the same company that launched the favipiravir coronavirus drug. Apart from these drugs, patients were also being treated with emergency drugs such as Dexamethasone, itolizumab, etc.
The President of the Indian Region Formulations, Rajeev Sibbal, said, “In these tough times, it is our duty to support the nation in fighting the pandemic and ensuring affordable drugs are made available for impacted patients. Covihalt, Lupin’s favipiravir drug, is a vital step in this direction. We believe that we can leverage our expertise in managing widespread community diseases like TB to proactively reach patients across India and ensure access to Covihalt through our strong distribution network and field force.”
Covihalt is capable of reducing the symptoms of the coronavirus. In fact, the Drug Controller General of India has approved the drug launch. The drug will be available in the form of 200 mg tablets and each tablet will cost Rs. 49.
Favipiravir drugs are antiviral and have been shown to be effective against coronavirus. The National Secretary of Indian Chest Society, Dr. Rajesh Swarankar, says, “Favipiravir has shown excellent results in the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19. We remain optimistic about its indispensable role in combating the disease.”
Another pharmaceutical giant, SunPharma has also launched its own Favipiravir antiviral drug under the name of ‘Fluguard’. This drug will too help in the treatment of mild to moderate coronavirus patients and will be sold at Rs. 35 per tablet in India.
As of today, only Favipiravir drugs under the name of Fluguard and Covihalt have been approved by the DCGI. These drugs are the only oral antiviral drugs for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 patients. Hopefully, these drugs will help India bring down its mortality rate and resume life as was before the coronavirus pandemic.
