Mumbai: Indian pharmaceutical giant Cipla has received approval to launch its new drug that was created to help patients suffering from mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19.

A statement from the company said it has been “granted regulatory approval by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for the launch of Favipiravir in the country under the brand name Ciplenza.

“The accelerated approval for manufacturing and marketing of the drug is aimed at meeting the urgent and unmet medical need for COVID-19 treatment options in the country through restricted emergency use,” added the statement.

As part of its efforts to enable speedy access to cater to the demand, Cipla will commercially launch Ciplenza in the first week of August priced at INR 68 per tablet.

To ensure fair and equitable distribution of the drug, supplies will be undertaken predominantly through hospital channels and via open channels, prioritised for regions with a high burden of COVID-19 cases.

The drug has been jointly developed by Cipla and Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), in collaboration with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. As part of this partnership, CSIR-IICT has successfully developed a convenient and cost-effective synthetic process for Favipiravir.

The entire process and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) of the drug has been transferred to Cipla to manufacture and market the drug at scale.

Favipiravir is an off patent, oral antiviral drug that has been shown to hasten clinical recovery in COVID -19 patients with mild to moderate symptoms.