Aurobindo Pharma Limited, an Indian pharmaceutical manufacturing company, has reportedly launched a novel COVID-19 drug Molnupiravir for the alleged treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection under the brand name "Molnaflu" in India.
Molnupiravir can be used to treat adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19 under firm conditions, as reported in a press release.
Earlier, Molnupiravir was approved under Emergency Use Authorization by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization.
As per sources, earlier last year, Aurobindo signed an agreement of a non-exclusive bi-lateral voluntary licensing with MSD (Merck Sharpe Dohme), Singapore, a subdivision of Merck & Co. (US), to supply and manufacture Molnupiravir to around 100 middle and low-income countries, including India.
Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Aurobindo, K Nithyananda Reddy, said that they are pleased to receive a suitable approval from DCGI for the licensed form of Molnupiravir (Molnaflu) as it provides access to a reasonable treatment option for COVID-19 patients and enables them to help fight the pandemic with actual and high-quality pharmaceutical products.
Aurobindo enjoys backward integration with in-house API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) manufacturing for the licensed form of Molnupiravir, which prepares it with solid control on the Quality systems and Supply chain.
Furthermore, the product will be manufactured at the firm's manufacturing unit, approved by global regulatory agencies, including USFDA and UK MHRA.
The company has sufficient capacities to meet the global demand of over 100 LMI countries for the product, said Aurobindo.
Crucial to note that India has reported 1,17,100 new cases of COVID-19, after a week since the country has crossed the mark of 10,000. Notably, the virus is spreading unexpectedly, strongly driven by the new Omicron variant, which is present in almost 27 states. The latest jump of 28% in the new cases has brought the tally of the total caseload of the country to 3.52 crore.