Coronavirus treatment: Lupin launches Favipiravir for Rs 49 per tablet; names drug Covihalt

Pharma major Lupin Limited on Wednesday announced the launch of its version of Favipiravir. The drug has been named Covihalt and would be available as 200 mg tablets. Lupin's drug would come in a strip of 10 tablets, each tablet priced at Rs 49. The tablets would be used for treatment of mild to moderate coronavirus patients.

This announcement comes after Sun Pharma on Tuesday announced the launch of its Favipiravir drug, FluGuard for Rs 35 per tablet. FluGuard is also available for the treatment of mild to moderate cases.

Also read: Sun Pharma launches Favipiravir for Rs 35 per tablet to treat COVID-19 patients

Lupin and Sun Pharma are the latest pharma companies to join a long list of pharma companies to launch their versions of Favipiravir. Glenmark had, in the beginning, launched its version of the drug for Rs 103 per tablet, which was then reduced to Rs 75 per tablet. Cipla had all launched the durg for Rs 68 per tablet, while Hetero, Brinton Pharma launched it for Rs 59 per tablet.

On Wednesday, another pharma company Zenara Pharma received the approval for the launch of Favipiravir. The company is a subsidiary of Biophore.

Also read: Cipla to launch Favipiravir drug for coronavirus treatment at Rs 68 per tablet

Commenting on the launch of Favipiravir by Lupin, Rajeev Sibal, President of India Region Formulations (IRF) said, "COVID-19 is a global pandemic and in India we are seeing a surge in the number of cases on a daily basis. In these tough times, it is our duty to support the nation in fighting this 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."

Dr Rajesh Swarnakar, National Secretary Indian Chest Society said that Favipiravir has shown excellent results in the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 cases.

Also read: Glenmark reduces price of COVID-19 drug FabiFlu to Rs 75 from Rs 103 per tablet

Also read: Hetero latest among 10 firms to launch Favipiravir; drug priced at Rs 59 per tablet

Also read: Coronavirus treatment: Brinton Pharma gets DCGI approval to launch Favipiravir, to price at Rs 59