Hyderabad-based Zenara Pharma, has announced that it has launched Nirmatrelvir and Ritonavir tablets in a combi pack as a treatment option for patients with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19. Zenara Pharma is a fully owned subsidiary of Biophore India Pharmaceuticals.

The product will be sold at a Maximum Retail Price of Rs 5,200 per box, equivalent to one full course of treatment per patient, and contains 20 Tablets of Nirmatrelvir 150ml and 10 Tablets of Ritonavir 100mg.

The tablet, which will be sold under the brand name 'Paxzen', is being manufactured at Zenara's US FDA and EU-approved state-of-the-art facility in Hyderabad. It is to be noted that Zenara Pharma received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to manufacture and market this product last month.

Dr Jagadeesh Babu Rangisetty, Co-founder and Managing Director at Zenara Pharma, told ANI, "We have launched this product in India with an aim to bring the best treatment options against COVID within reach of patients in our country. Our product, Paxzen, has been proven equivalent to Paxlovid through a Bio Equivalence study, based on which we have received approval from the regulatory authorities."

The statement further said that the product's breakthrough approval was given by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2021 indicating for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults. It was the first oral pill that has been approved by US FDA and with a better safety profile than subsequently approved oral therapies.

Studies also indicate that the risk of death or hospitalisation is reduced by 89% when taken in a timely manner against COVID. The pill can even be self-administered at home, after being prescribed.