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Favipiravir is approved for manufacture and sale in Japan as an influenza antiviral. It selectively inhibits the RNA polymerase of the influenza virus, an enzyme required for viral replication once human host cells are infected. COVID-19 also uses this enzyme to replicate and is classified into the same type of single-stranded RNA virus as influenza; hence, it is believed that Favipiravir may be effective in treating COVID-19.
Favipiravir is only used when there is an outbreak of novel or re-emerging influenza virus infections in which other influenza antiviral drugs are either not effective or insufficiently effective. Its production and distribution is at the discretion of Japan’s Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, so has never been distributed in the market and is not available at hospitals and pharmacies in Japan or overseas.
Pharmacology
Favipiravir is a new antiviral drug against influenza. It is metabolized into favipiravir ribosyl triphosphate (favipiravir RTP) by an intracellular enzyme, and favipiravir RTP selectively inhibits RNA polymerase (RNA-dependent RNA polymerase) of the influenza virus, preventing replication of the influenza virus. It is a drug with a mechanism of action different from that of the existing influenza antiviral drugs and effective against all types and sub-types of human influenza A, B, and C viruses in vitro, showing a wide range of anti-viral activity against various influenza virus strains including avian and swine viruses.