Fujifilm partners with Dr Reddy\'s to sell Avigan for COVID-19 treatment

TOKYO: Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corp said on Wednesday it was partnering with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories to sell the anti-flu drug Avigan in India and elsewhere to treat COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

The agreement provides for Fujifilm Toyama Chemical, a unit of the Japanese company, to grant Dr. Reddy’s and Dubai-based Global Response Aid the right to develop, make and sell Avigan overseas and get a lump-sum license fee and royalties on sales.

In June, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd received regulatory approval for favipiravir, the generic form of Avigan, as a treatment for mild-to-moderate virus infections in India.

Japanese approval of Avigan for virus treatment was delayed amid a lack of patients for clinical trials.

Fujifilm will allow Dr. Reddy’s to use its production patents as well as clinical data, the Japanese company said in a statement.

Dr. Reddy’s and GRA will use the data for clinical studies, targeting virus patients in India, the Middle East, and other regions.