Favipiravir

March 31, 2020

Medicine

formuladrugs.com

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Favipiravir is an influenza drug which was approved for clinical use in Japan in the year 2014.

Influenza attacks your respiratory system. Sometimes, its complications can be deadly. But for most people, influenza resolves on its own. Flu viruses travel through the air in droplets when someone with the infection sneezes, coughs, or talks.

Medical authorities in China have said a drug in Japan to treat new strains of influenza appeared to be effective in coronavirus patients. The officials said that the drug has a high degree of safety and is clearly effective in treatment.

At this time, there are studies that Favipiravir has the capability to treat people with the infection of coronavirus. Coronavirus is a large family of viruses that may cause illness in humans or animals. Several coronaviruses reasons for respiratory infections which ranges from the common cold to more severe illnesses. These diseases include Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). COVID-19 is the most recent discovered coronavirus disease. This infection is spread from person to person. It may be through small droplets from the one who is infected through sneezing or coughing. Some people don’t develop any symptoms or don’t feel any unwell and get infected. After exposure to the virus, the appearance of the symptoms may take up to 14 days. Symptoms of the disease may be very mild or more serious such as:

• Cough
• Fever
• Difficulty breathing

As the news goes by, doctors in Japan are using Favipiravir in clinical studies on coronavirus patients with mild yo moderate symptoms. Hoping that it will also prevent the virus from multiplying in patients. But, there is a source in Japan said that the drug was not as effective in people with more severe symptoms. Favipiravir would still need government approval for full-scale use on COVID-19 patients. Because it was originally intended to treat flu.

Mechanism of Action

The mechanism of action of this drug is novel compared to existing influenza antivirals that primarily prevent entry and exit of the virus from cells. The active RNA polymerase inhibits and prevents replication of the viral genome. Some studies have shown that when Favipiravir is incorporated into an RNA strand, it prevents RNA strand elongation and viral proliferation.

A recent study was a non-randomized comparison of two treatment regimens across time. On their study in day one, the group comprises 35 people and gave 1,600 mg of Favipiravir twice in separate doses plus inhaled interferon. On day two, the group reduced their dosage to 600 mg twice each day and kept taking inhaled interferon. Patients who took Favipiravir cleared the virus in an average of 4 days. The researchers who conducted this study have shown significant improvement in chest imaging compared with the control arm. The statistical calculations have also shown that Favipiravir was independently associated with faster viral clearance. Through this non-randomized study, it showed significantly better treatment effects on COVID-19 in terms of disease progression and