Tablets of Favipiravil, which is used to treat Covid-19.
Photo courtesy of Europeanpharmal. 

The Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) has found a way to shorten the synthesis process of a Covid-19 antiviral drug, which helps to drive down costs. 

The Institute of Chemistry under VAST recently announced it has managed to cut the synthesis process for Favipiravil, an antiviral medication, from seven-eight reactions to only three. It means production costs would be cheaper and more suitable for Vietnam's production capabilities, researchers said.

Favipiravil's mechanism is similar to Remdesivir, another antiviral medication. Remdesivir has been used to combat the coronavirus in certain countries like China, Japan and Russia. Favipiravil itself has also been authorized for treating Covid-19 in Japan, India and Russia under emergency provisions. It is now in its third phase of human trials for treating Covid-19 in certain countries.

The research team at the Institute of Chemistry under Vietnam Academy
of Science and Technology. Photo courtesy of the VAST.

The research to shorten the synthesis process began last August to limit Vietnam's dependency on imported drugs, said researchers.

"The team would continue to refine and stabilize the synthesis process while scaling it up. We expect to patent it," said Nguyen Van Tuyen, head of VAST.

Vietnam entered its fourth wave of Covid-19 community transmission on April 27 and since then, 12,788 infections have been registered in 48 cities and provinces.

Bac Giang still leads the infection count with 5,667 confirmed cases, followed by HCMC with 3,494.