New Delhi: Leading pharmaceutical firm Strides Pharma Science has said that it has received regulatory approval to conduct clinical trials of antiviral drug favipiravir, considered a potential treatment for COVID-19.
The Bengaluru-based company has received approval from the Drug Controller General of India to conduct trials of favipiravir in the country, Strides founder and non-executive chairman Arun Kumar said on a post-earnings conference call, without giving any more details.
Strides’ announcement comes after Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said last month it became the first pharma company in the country to get the nod to conduct favipiravir trials.
Favipiravir is manufactured under the brand name Avigan by a unit of Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corp and was approved for use as an anti-flu drug in the country in 2014.
However, on Wednesday, Kyodo News reported that so far there has been no clear evidence of efficacy for Avigan in treating the novel coronavirus in some clinical trials.
