- 40 Tablets/Box - DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION: The usual dosage of favipiravir for adults is 1600 mg orally twice daily for day 1 followed by 600 mg orally twice daily for the 6-9 days. - Tablets can be crushed and mixed with food and liquid. - It is an anti-viral agent that selectively and potently inhibits the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of RNA viruses. Favipiravir undergoes an intracellular phosphoribosylation to be an active form, favipiravir-RTP (favipiravir ribofuranosyl-5B-triphos-phate), which is recognized as a substrate by RdRp, and inhibits the RNA polymerase activity. Since the catalytic domain of RdRp is conserved among various types of RNA viruses, this mechanism of action underpins a broader spectrum of anti-viral activities of favipiravir. Favipiravir is effective against a wide range of types and subtypes of influenza viruses, including strains resistant to existing anti-influenza drugs(including ones sensitive or resistant to marketed neuraminidase and M2 inhibitors). Of note is that favipiravir shows anti-viral activities against other RNA viruses such as arenaviruses, bunyaviruses and filoviruses, all of which are known to cause fatal hemorrhagic fever. These unique anti-viral profiles will make favipiravir a potentially promising drug for specifically untreatable RNA viral infections.
