Eva pharma of Egypt begins manufacture of COVID 19 drug

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· Eva Pharma, the Egyptian drugmaker has announced that it has begun manufacturing antiviral treatment Avipiravir

· The drug has been proved effective in treating COVID-19 patients in Russia

Eva Pharma, the Egyptian drugmaker has announced that it has begun manufacturing antiviral treatment Avipiravir. The drug has been proved effective in treating COVID-19 patients in Russia. Russia started using the drug earlier this month.It is called there as Avifavir. The clinical trials had shown it successfully treated the virus in most cases within a few days. The drug is undergoing trials in Japan and some other countries.

Riad Armanious, CEO of Eva Pharma has claimed that the production started after conducting necessary manufacturing trials. The Egyptian drug will have the same active substance of Favipiravir, an oral antiviral drug originally approved for the treatment of influenza in Japan and now being tested to treat COVID-19 under different brand names in Japan, Italy and the UK. Eva Pharma plans to meet local demand of the drug, as well as export it to the Middle East, Africa and other countries. The medicine, will be available in tablets forms and priced at around EGP 4,500 or less per treatment course. The company plans to deliver about 60,000 courses to hospitals in June.

Eva Pharma has also signed a deal with Gilead Sciences Inc to be a licensed manufacturer of the US company’s antiviral treatment remdesivir for COVID-19 in 127 countries. Remdesivir, is a drug used for treatment of Ebola, which has proved effective in shortening the recovery time of COVID-19 patients. A number of countries including the US, the UK and Japan have recently started using it for treatment of COVID 19 patients.