Zydus Cadila announced that it has received restricted emergency use approval from the Indian drug regulator, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), for the use of ‘Virafin’, Pegylated Interferon alpha-2b (PegIFN) in treating moderate coronavirus infection in adults.
In its Phase-3 clinical trials, a single dose subcutaneous regimen of the antiviral Virafin had shown better clinical improvement in the COVID-19 patients. “During the trials, a higher proportion of patients administered with PegIF were RT PCR negative by day 7. The drug ensures faster viral clearance and has several add-on advantages compared to other anti-viral agents,” the company said.
Pegylated Interferon alpha-2b was originally approved for Hepatitis C.
Source: Zydus Cadila