India's First ‘Covid drug’ favipiravir to be available by month-end!!

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on Saturday announced the launch of antiviral drug Favipiravir 

(brand name FabiFlu®) for the treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 patients.

Glenmark has received manufacturing and marketing approval from India’s drug regulator, making FabiFlu® the first oral Favipiravir-approved medication in India for the treatment of COVID-19. The antiviral offers broad-spectrum RNA virus coverage with clinical improvement noted across age groups 20 to >90 years. Favipiravir can be used in Covid-19 patients with co-morbid conditions such as diabetes and heart disease with mild to moderate Covid-19 symptoms. It offers a rapid reduction in viral load within four days and provides faster symptomatic and radiological improvement.

According to the company, the drug will be launched commercially next week and is likely to be available across chemist outlets, on prescription, by the end of the month. It will be priced at Rs 103 per tablet. The antiviral medication was developed in Japan and subsequently approved for use among influenza patients. Favipiravir is among the drugs under trial for Covid-19 treatment. Currently, the drug is the subject of at least 18 clinical trials involving more than 3,000 patients across India, USA, Canada, Italy, China, France, the UK, and other countries. Early trials on the drug in China, involving 340 patients, produced encouraging outcomes in Wuhan and Shenzhen.

It is the first medication to be approved and commercially available for the treatment of Covid-19. Since it can be taken orally, it makes the medicine more accessible and easily administrative. The drug will be sold in a strip of 34 tablets with a dose strength of 200 mg for a maximum course of 14 days. The drug is priced at Rs 3,500, approximately Rs 103 per tablet.

 

Dexamethasone an anti-inflammatory low-cost drug reduces death by up to one-third in hospitalized patients diagnosed with acute respiratory complications of Covid-19, researchers said. On Wednesday, the UK government authorized the drug for Covid-19 treatment.

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