COVID-19 Drug FabiFlu Launched by Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Priced at Rs 103 Per Tablet

New Delhi, June 20: Drug agency Glenmark Prescribed drugs on Saturday mentioned it has launched antiviral drug Favipiravir, below the model identify FabiFlu, for the remedy of sufferers with gentle to reasonable COVID-19 at a worth of about Rs 103 per pill.

The drug shall be accessible as a 200 mg pill at a most retail worth (MRP) of Rs 3,500 for a strip of 34 tablets, Glenmark Prescribed drugs mentioned.

FabiFlu is the primary oral favipiravir-approved medicine in India for the remedy of COVID-19, it mentioned in a press release. Steroid Dexamethasone Exhibits Promise in Enhancing Survival Charges in Critically Ailing COVID-19 Sufferers: All You Must Know Concerning the Drug!.

It’s a prescription-based medicine, with advisable dose being 1,800 mg twice day by day on day one, adopted by 800 mg twice day by day as much as day 14, it added. The tablets are being produced by the corporate at its Baddi facility in Himachal Pradesh. The drug shall be accessible each via hospitals and the retail channel, Glenmark mentioned.

The Mumbai-based agency had on Friday acquired the manufacturing and advertising and marketing approval from the Medication Controller Normal of India (DCGI).

“This approval comes at a time when circumstances in India are spiralling like by no means earlier than, placing an amazing stress on our healthcare system,” Glenmark Prescribed drugs Chairman and MD Glenn Saldanha mentioned within the assertion.

The corporate hopes that the supply of an efficient remedy similar to FabiFlu will significantly assist assuage this stress, and supply sufferers in India a a lot wanted and well timed remedy choice, he added.

“Glenmark will work intently with the federal government and medical neighborhood to make FabiFlu rapidly accessible to sufferers throughout the nation,” he added.

The corporate has efficiently developed the lively pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and the formulation for FabiFlu via its in-house analysis and growth crew, Glenmark mentioned.

“We selected to provoke work on Favipiravir, because it has confirmed in-vitro exercise in opposition to SARS CoV2 virus, which is the virus answerable for COVID-19. “Second is it has a large therapeutic security margin for COVID-19 at the dose that we administer,” Glenmark Prescribed drugs President India Formulations, Center East and Africa Sujesh Vasudevan mentioned at a web based press convention.

Furthermore, it’s an oral product and that could be a enormous profit particularly when the hospital infrastructure is below pressure, he added.

Manufacturing and advertising and marketing approval has been granted as a part of an accelerated approval course of, contemplating the emergency scenario of the COVID-19 outbreak in India, Glenmark mentioned.

The approval’s restricted use entails accountable medicine utilization the place each affected person should have signed knowledgeable consent earlier than remedy initiation, it added. Favipiravir can be utilized for coronavirus sufferers with co-morbid circumstances similar to diabetes and coronary heart illness with gentle to reasonable COVID-19 signs, Glenmark mentioned.

It presents speedy discount in viral load inside 4 days and gives quicker symptomatic and radiological enchancment. Favipiravir has proven medical enchancment of as much as 88 per cent in gentle to reasonable COVID-19 circumstances, it mentioned.

Favipiravir has been authorised in Japan since 2014 for the remedy of novel or re-emerging influenza virus infections. Avifavir, COVID-19 Drug That Russia Claims to be ‘Sport Changer’, to be Rolled Out Subsequent Week.

Final month, Glenmark additionally introduced that it’s conducting one other medical trial to judge the efficacy of two antivirals Favipiravir and Umifenovir as a mixture remedy in reasonable hospitalised grownup COVID-19 sufferers in India.

India on Saturday noticed one other document spike of 14,516 new COVID-19 circumstances in a single day, pushing the tally to three,95,048, whereas the loss of life toll rose to 12,948 with 375 new fatalities, in line with Union Well being Ministry information.