Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on Saturday launched antiviral drug Favipiravir for treatment of mild-to-moderate Covid-19 cases after it received the Indian drug regulator’s approval.
It will be available under the brand name FabiFlu as a prescription-based medication for Rs 103 per tablet, with a recommended dose of 1,800 mg twice a day on day 1 and 800 mg twice a day up to 14th day, according to the Mumbai-headquartered global pharmaceutical company.
Glenmark received approval for manufacturing and marketing Favipiravir from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Friday.
“The approval has come at a time when cases in India are spiraling, putting tremendous pressure on our healthcare system,” Glenn Saldanha, Chairman and Managing Director of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, said in a statement.
“We hope the availability of effective treatment, such as FabiFlu, will help assuage this pressure considerably and offer patients in India a much-needed and timely therapy option,” Saldanha said.
Favipiravir is backed by strong clinical evidence, showing encouraging results in patients with mild to moderate Covid-19. It offers broad-spectrum RNA virus coverage with clinical improvement noted in 20-90 plus age group.
Patients from over 10 leading government and private hospitals were enrolled for the study.
Favipiravir could be used for Covid-19 patients with comorbid conditions, like diabetes and heart disease, the company said and added, it would offer a rapid reduction in viral load within four days and faster symptomatic and radiological improvement.
Glenmark has developed the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and formulation for FabiFlu through the in-house R&D team.
Glenmark was the first company in India to receive the drug regulator’s approval to conduct a phase-3 clinical trial of Favipiravir antiviral tablets for Covid-19 patients.
Favipiravir is a generic version of Avigan of Fujifilm Toyama Chemical, Japan, a subsidiary of Fujifilm Corporation.
