Hetero Labs Ltd has received regulatory approval to sell its version of anti-viral drug favipiravir to treat COVID-19, the drugmaker said today.
The drug, priced at ₹59 per tablet, is approved to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 and will be available at drug stores from today, news agency Reuters reported.Favipiravir and another anti-viral treatment, remdesivir, have emerged as the most sought after medicines to treat COVID-19 in India, which had already approved the drugs as emergency treatments to fight the outbreak.Favipiravir was originally developed by Japan's Fujifilm Holdings Corp under the brand name Avigan for treating influenza.Hetero is also among the drugmakers that have a license with US-based Gilead Sciences Inc to make.