Fighting Covid: 10 lakh doses of Virafin coming soon at chemists; may be priced lower than Remdesivir

• Follow

DCGI on April 23 gave emergency authorisation to Zydus Cadila’s Virafin — a single-dose injection-based Covid-19 treatment drug that will soon be available at local chemists.

In an exclusive interview to Money9, Sharvil Patel, Zydus Cadila’s Managing Director, said: “Virafin is an anti-viral drug given to neutralise and remove the (Covid-19) virus from the body.”

He added that it should be given early when the infection is still at a ‘moderate’ level in Covid-positive patients but even for those who go in for treatment at a later stage, the drug shall be effective.

Edited excerpts:

Q: Does Virafin compete with Remdesivir?

Patel: In effect, both Virafin and Remdesiver do the same job of being ‘anti-viral’ drugs. They both work against the Covid-causing virus. Virafin, however, has been tested both with as well as against Remdesivir and the results have been encouraging. Virafin  offers a magnitude-livel high potency against Remdesivir.

Q: How much will Virafin cost?

Patel: The company is yet to arrive at a final price for the drug but will be positioned competitively against Remdesivir in the overall cost of treatment. Our goal is that the overall cost of therapy should be manageable for most of the patients. We should be able to price it better than Remdesivir.

Q: Will it be available over the counter?

Patel: Virafin is not part of any protocol for the Centre or states to procure and distribute. Moreover, since it is given outside the clinic setting, the drug will be available at local chemists. Initially, however, the company will start by making it available in hospitals before making it an OTC drug.

Q: What were the operational challenges?

Patel: Zydus Cadila started manufacturing Virafin in April this year, in anticipation of authorisation. The company hopes to deliver 50 thousand doses (that will treat 50 thousand patients) in the month of May this year. By June-end or early July, capacity would be added to deliver 10 lakh doses a month. We are manufacturing it totally in-house. Right now, manufacturing cannot be contracted as this is a biological drug, not a chemical drug. But through technology transfer, it is possible to outsource if the demand is high. That will take the number of doses to five times or 50 lakh a month. There are not many manufacturers in the world that are equipped to produce a drug of this nature.

Q: What did clinical trials show?

Patel: Data from Phase III (trial) shows statistically a two-point improvement on the WHO ordinal scale. 91.15% of patients tested RT-PCR negative by Day-7. There was also a significant number of patients requiring less oxygen.

Q: Can you elucidate about your plans? 

Patel: Zydus Cadila is in talks with USFDA to conduct a trial in the USA and it is under discussion right now. We haven’t started the trials yet. Presently, the drug is meant only for adults, but potentially it could be repurposed for children too. But it is a little too premature for us to talk about that.

(With inputs from Rajat Shubhra Mozumder)