Romanian Government Issues Emergency Authorization of Favipiravir (Antiviral) for Early Onset COVID-19 Care During Surge in Cases & Deaths

The government of Romania has approved on an emergency basis the antiviral Favipiravir (Avigan) for the outpatient treatment of mild COVID-19 cases according to Monday’s announcement of Minister Cseke Attila. The drug is provisionally authorized on an emergency basis, but manufacturers do not have formal market authorization. Originally developed in Japan by FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical Co., Favipiravir is now approved in dozens of countries for early-onset care of COVID-19 including Russia, India, China, and many others. Appili Therapeutics is attempting to commercialize the product in Canada in partnership with India’s large generic drug producer Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories. TrialSite reported that at the end of 2020 they applied to market the drug. Health Canada was very careful not to discuss publicly—they requested additional data as did the Japanese even though some interpretations of clinical studies were positive. The Chinese military recently secured their own internal patent for the drug.

An antiviral that competes in some nations with ivermectin and even hydroxychloroquine (still used in some places), the American press hasn’t covered much of the studies on Favipiravir occu...