Last Updated on June 21, 2020, 5:57 AM AST by Anthony Morris
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals launched an antiviral drug Favipiravir (brand name FabiFlu®) on Saturday for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 patients.
Favipiravir has shown clinical evidence which has shown encouraging results in patients who have mild to moderate COVID-19 coronavirus.
The antiviral offers a broad-spectrum RNA virus coverage with the clinical improvement noted across age groups of 20 to 90 years.
The company said in an official statement, “Favipiravir can be used in COVID-19 patients with co-morbid conditions such as heart disease and diabetes with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms. It offers a rapid reduction in viral load within four days and provides faster radiological and symptomatic improvement. Most importantly, Favipiravir has shown clinical improvement of up to 88% in COVID-19 mild to moderate COVID-19 cases.”
Glenmark, a research-led, integrated global pharmaceutical company has said that it had received marketing and manufacturing approval from the office of the Drugs Controller General of India, making FabiFlu® the first oral Favipiravir-approved medication for the treatment of COVID-19 in India.
Glenmark has also developed the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and has made the FabiFlu® through its own in-house Research and Development team.
Glenn Saldanha, the Chairman and MD of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., said that the approval has come at a time when the COVID-19 cases in India are increasing like never before, and are putting tremendous pressure on the country’s healthcare system. He added that the company hopes that the availability of an effective treatment such as FabiFlu® would help assuage this pressure considerably, and would offer the patients in India a much needed and timely therapy option.
Saldanha explained that FabiFlu® had shown an encouraging response in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 during the clinical trials.
Moreover, the medicine is orally administered, and so it is a more convenient treatment option over other medications which are intravenously administered.
He said that Glenmark would be working closely with the Government of India as well as the medical community to make FabiFlu® accessible to patients across India quickly.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
