In what comes as a boost to India's pharmaceutical industry amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT), and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST) have signed an MoU with Suven Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (SPL) for the process technology transfer and manufacture of the anti-Covid drug Molnupiravir. The new agreement comes days after the Hyderabad-based CSIR-IICT entered into a similar MoU with Lee Pharma on process technology transfer and the manufacture of Covid-19 drug 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose (2-DG).
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The anti-viral drug Molnupiravir, now meant to fight Covid-19, was initially developed for the treatment of influenza but has since been repurposed. CSIR-IICT said Molnupiravir can completely suppress Covid-19 virus transmission within 24 hours, citing a study published in the research journal 'Nature Microbiology'. With such a rapid means of tackling the SARS-Cov-2 virus transmission, anti-Covid drug Molnupiravir can be a complete gamechanger in India's fight against the coronavirus disease pandemic, said the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology.
A press release issued by the CSIR-IICT detailed how the synthetic process know-how for Molnupiravir was sourced from CSIR-NIIST and the process to scale it up was successfully carried out by CSIR-IICT. It said that the complete technology know-how will be transferred to SPL and the company, would in turn manufacture and launch the anti-viral drug Molnupiravir in the market as an effective medication for patients affected with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). CSIR-IICT would also provide the process know-how for the manufacture of new anti-Covid drug 2 -DG to treat moderate and severe Covid-19 infected patients to reduce their oxygen dependency, as per the agreement.