Brinton Pharmaceuticals on Thursday said it has received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to market antiviral drug Favipiravir under the brand name 'Faviton' for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

To be available in 200 mg tablets, the drug will be sold at a maximum retail price of Rs 59 per tablet, Brinton Pharmaceuticals said in a statement. Emerging favorable global clinical evidence suggests, Favipiravir is an effective treatment option in the management of mild-to-moderate COVID-19, it added.

In India, Favipiravir was first approved by the regulatory authorities in June 2020 under emergency use authorisation to treat COVID-19 patients, Brinton Pharmaceuticals said.

"Our strategic intent will be to improve the access through our strong distribution network that will help make Faviton available across all COVID treatment centres and our MRP is Rs 59 per tablet," Brinton Pharma CMD Rahul Kumar Darda said.

The company will be marketing this drug in India and will also export it, the statement said.

Faviton is a generic version of Avigan of Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Fujifilm Corporation.

An off-patent anti-viral drug Favipiravir, originally discovered by Fuji, Japan has shown promise in clinical trials for the treatment of Covid-19 patients, especially the mild and the moderate patients.

Meanwhile, CSIR constituent lab CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT) has developed a cost-effective process using locally available chemicals to synthesize this Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) and transferred the technology to leading pharmaceutical industry M/s Cipla Limited.

Cipla has scaled up the process in their manufacturing facility and approached DCGI for permission to launch the product in India. Given that DCGI has given restricted emergency use for Favipiravir in the country, Cipla is now all set to launch the product to help patients suffering from Covid-19.

Commenting on the development, Director CSIR-IICR, Dr. S Chandrashekhar said that the technology provided by CSIR-IICT is very efficient and makes it affordable and allows Cipla to make large quantities of the product within a short span of time.

DG-CSIR, Dr. Shekhar C Mande observed that CSIR is working with industry in developing quick solutions and products for mitigation of Covid-19 and this partnership with Cipla is an example of how CSIR is committed in bringing repurposed drugs on a fast track.