The Taizhou government of Zhejiang province in China announced on Sunday that Favipiravir, an antiviral drug, has been approved for marketing against the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), China Daily has reported.
This was after the drug showed encouraging outcomes when used the treatment of COVID-19.
The drug, approved for marketing in treating influenza, is one of the three that has been demonstrated to be effective against COVID-19 in human trials.
China Daily noted that the approval document by the National Medical Products Administration showed that the drug manufacturer, Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Company, already met the requirements to produce the generic form of Favipiravir but must continue unfinished research in pharmacy and clinical pharmacology.
According to the news outlet, the company also got a clinical trial approval by the administration, explaining that the drug was approved for clinical trials on indication for COVID-19 pneumonia.
The head of the China National Center for Biotechnology Department under the Ministry of Science and Technology, Zhang Xinmin was quoted by China Daily to have said at a news conference on Saturday that in human trials conducted in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, the drug showed promising results for treating COVID-19 with mild adverse reactions to its use.
