Positive results for favipiravir in a small Phase III study in Covid-19 patients in India
In patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 infection (n=150), treatment with the broad spectrum oral antiviral favipiravir was associated with 28.6% faster viral clearance than placebo, with clinical cure at day 4 in 69.8% versus 44.9% [no further details reported].
Source:
Biospace Inc.
SPS commentary:
Favipiravir is an anti-viral inhibitor of viral RNA polymerase that functions to make copies of the viral RNA segments and to synthesize mRNAs that produce the proteins that will form new viruses. It has been approved for use against Covid-19 in India and Russia, and the news report notes that it is being assessed in multiple ongoing international clinical trials. It is unclear whether there are plans to develop it for influenza (currently available in Japan for this indication).