HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad-based Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) has developed a convenient and cost-effective synthetic process for producing antiviral drug Favipiravir.
According to a media release by the Ministry of Science and Technology, as a collaborative effort with the industry, the IICT has transferred the entire process and significant quantities of pharma-grade API of Favipiravir to the pharmaceutical major Cipla, with whom it had tied up earlier to develop drugs which can prove effective against Covid-19.
Cipla would be conducting investigations on this drug in India for which it has approached the regulatory authority, DCGI, for approval. Favipiravir is in the clinical trials for Covid-19 and is under use for treatment of influenza in many countries. The IICT has also been working on another antiviral drug named Bolaxavir, which is expected to be ready by January next year.
Apart from this, the institute has also been working on the production of other drugs, including Arbidol and Triazavarin apart from Hydroxychloroquine intermediates, the RT PCR enzyme and viral transport medium for hospitals.