Zydus Cadila’s Virafin approved for emergency use | Fusion - WeRIndia

In the wake of alarming COVID-19 cases, several pharmaceutical companies are trying to bring new medicines for treating COVID-19.

Cadila Healthcare Limited (Zydus Cadila) is one such company. It gets a nod for its drug, Virafin, from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for emergency use to treat moderate cases of COVID-19.

Zydus Cadila announced this matter, saying that a single dose of Virafin, Pegylated Interferon alpha-2b (PegIFN), when administered subcutaneously in patients with moderate COVID-19 symptoms, showed substantial clinical and virological improvement. However, the dose should be administered in the early stage of disease for better results.

The company said that clinical trials showed that patients, when given PegIFN, were tested COVID-19 negative by day 7 in RT-PCR tests. Besides, the company claims that the treatment substantially reduces the need for supplemental oxygen in patients.

The dose should be administered early for better results. This helps better management in controlling the viral load in patients with moderate symptoms.

Virafin helps patients recover faster. The usage of this drug also reduces health complications.

With approval from DCGI, Virafin is available on the prescription to be used in hospitals. It also fights against other viral infections effectively.

The drug was originally approved, for liver disease Hepatitis C 10 years ago in the country. Now, the company repurposed it and tested the usage of the drug for COVID-19 and conducted clinical trials. The company said that Virafin showed better clinical improvement in COVD-19 patients in its Phase-III clinical trials. It also said that the drug could reduce the number of hours of supplemental oxygen required for COVID-19.

In the past clinical trials, i.e. in Phase II trials, the drug was shown to be safe, effective and tolerable. Hence, the company got emergency approval from the DCGI to use it for the treatment of COVID-19 patients with moderate symptoms.

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