Lucknow: Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on Friday approved for the emergency usage of ‘Virafin’, Pegylated Interferon injection in treating the patients affected with moderate Covid-19 symptoms.
Senior officials of Zydus Cadila announced that a single dosage of ‘Virafin’ will make the treatment more convenient for the patients as it will help patients recover more faster than any administered medicine.
Dr. Sharvil Patel, Managing Director, Cadila Healthcare Limited said, “Virafin will be available on the prescription of medical specialist for use in hospital/institutional setup. In the multicentric trial conducted in 20-25 centers across India, Virafin had shown lesser need for Supplemental oxygen, clearly indicating that it was able to control respiratory distress and failure.”
“The fact that we are able to offer a therapy which significantly reduces viral load when given. Earlier one can help in better disease management. It comes at a much-needed time for patients and we will continue to provide them access to critical therapies in this battle against COVID-19,” Patel added.
In its Phase III clinical trials, the therapy had shown better clinical improvement in the patients suffering from COVID-19. During the trials, a higher proportion of patients administered with PegIFN arm were RT PCR negative by the seventh day. The drug ensures faster viral clearance and has several add-on advantages compared to other anti-viral agents.
