favipiravir

noun

fav·​i·​pir·​a·​vir ˌfa-və-ˈpir-ə-ˌvir 

: an antiviral drug C₅H₄FN₃O₂ that is administered orally or intravenously and inhibits viral replication of RNA viruses (such as the virus causing influenza) by interfering with viral RNA polymerase function

Note: Favipiravir is a nucleoside prodrug that undergoes metabolic conversion in the body to a triphosphate nucleotide.

… doctors are experimenting with all sorts of drugs that could speed up the recovery of patients. One of them is a flu medication from Japan called favipiravir … which showed promise in China.

—Chris Smit

Examples of favipiravir in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

My fave’s now favipiravir, Which won’t let covid doom us! —Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2020

The candidates include favipiravir and triazavirin, both originally designed to combat flu viruses; ribavirin, a treatment for respiratory syncytial virus and hepatitis C; and galidesivir, which can block replication of Ebola, Zika, and yellow fever viruses. —Robert F. Service, Science | AAAS, 11 Mar. 2021

Patanjali’s kit will hit shelves in the backdrop of large Indian pharmaceutical companies investing in experimental drugs such as remdisvir and favipiravir, both of which have shown to help patients with acute symptoms of Covid-19, but neither claims to cure it. —Manavi Kapur, Quartz India, 24 June 2020

Remdesivir is one such drug; so is favipiravir. —Naomi Xu Elegant, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2020

The man developed what was described as a mild pneumonia and received ciclesonide, favipiravir, and dexamethasone. —Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 1 Oct. 2021

Stanford epidemiologists want to see if favipiravir, which has shown promising results in other trials, prevents the coronavirus from replicating in human cells, halts the shedding of the virus and reduces the severity of infection. —Peter Fimrite, SFChronicle.com, 22 June 2020

Companies around the world are considering producing versions of Avigan, or favipiravir, which in a non-randomized Chinese study in March resulted in faster clearance of the virus in comparison with an anti-HIV drug. —Fortune, 1 June 2020

Even drugs like favipiravir, which some states are allegedly recommending, have been proven to be ineffective in mild cases. —Manavi Kapur, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

2009, in the meaning defined above