Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Type 1 interferons
Mains level: Paper 2- Emergency use approval of Virafin
About the drug
- It is used in treating people with chronic hepatitis B and C.
- The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) granted emergency use approval for pharma major Zydus Cadila’s antiviral drug ‘Virafin’, to treat moderate COVID-19 disease in adults.
- When administered early on during COVID, Virafin will help patients recover faster and avoid much of the complications.
- It significantly reduces viral load when given early on and can help in better disease management.
Findings of the clinical trials
- A single dose subcutaneous regimen of the antiviral Virafin [a pegylated interferon alpha-2b (PegIFN)] will make the treatment more convenient for the patients.
- When administered early on during COVID, Virafin will help patients recover faster and avoid much of the complications.
- In the phase-3 trials, the drug was able to achieve “better clinical improvement in the patients suffering from COVID-19”.
- A “higher proportion (91.15%) of patients administered the drug were RT-PCR negative by day seven as it ensures faster viral clearance”.
- The drug reduced the duration for supplemental oxygen to 56 hours from 84 hours in moderate COVID-19 patients.
How the drug works
- Type I interferons are the body’s first line of defence against many viral infections.
- In old people, the ability to produce interferon alpha in response to viral infections gets reduced, which might be the reason for higher mortality.
- The drug when administered early during the disease can replace this deficiency and help in the recovery process.
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