A professor from Chula Pharmaceutical Sciences in collaboration with the Chulabhorn Royal Academy and the private sector, developed Thailand’s first favipiravir liquid formula for children and COVID-19 patients, which won the Prime Minister’s Award, Innovation for Crisis by the government sector category, at the Startup and Innovation Thailand Expo 2021 (SITE 2021) organized by the National Innovation Agency (NIA).
thailand university ranking The COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand has left a large number of people infected, making access to medicines increasingly crucial. Favipiravir is one of the medicines used to treat COVID-19 according to the Ministry of Health’s 2019 Guidelines for the primary care, diagnosis, treatment, and infection prevention for the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Genesis of Pediatric Favipiravir Syrup
The recent COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted patients’ access to medicines. In late May 2021, a joint consultation meeting was held between the Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Chula Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and a group of industrial pharmacists led by Professor Nithi Mahanonda, M.D., and Supasil Wisuthi Sra-ium of the Chulabhorn Royal Academy, together with Asst. Prof. Dr. Bodin Tuesuwan, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vorasit Vongsutilers of the Department of Food and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, joined by Dr. Ariya Khunvichai, Promporn Jamnongtanachote, Dr.Wallapa Muannoom, and Dr. Jirawee Pawitpok, industrial pharmacists, to find solutions through a wide range of pharmaceutical expertise.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Bodin Tuesuwan, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vorasit Vongsutilers of the Department of Food and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Chula Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, members of the team that jointly developed pediatric favipiravir syrup revealed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, adult patients who received 5 days of favipiravir would cost around 4,000 – 5,000 baht per person. So, the Chula Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences proposed a plan to develop their favipiravir formula to enable hospitals to prepare their medicines for patients, while the Chulabhorn Royal Academy already had the active ingredients of favipiravir, thus enabling the project to move forward quickly.
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