In a landmark development for COVID-19 patients in India, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, a research-led, integrated global pharmaceutical company, 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.
Favipiravir is backed by strong clinical evidence showing encouraging results in patients with mild to moderate 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 rapid reduction in viral load within 4 days and provides faster symptomatic and radiological improvement. Of most importance, Favipiravir has shown clinical improvement of up to 88% in COVID-19 mild to moderate COVID 19 cases.
Glenmark successfully developed the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and the formulation for FabiFlu® through its own in-house R&D team. Glenmark filed the product for clinical trial with India’s drug regulator DCGI and became the first pharmaceutical company in India to receive approval for conducting phase 3 clinical trial on mild to moderate COVID-19 patients.
Commenting on the significance of this development, Mr. Glenn Saldanha, Chairman and Managing Director of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., said,
THIS APPROVAL COMES AT A TIME WHEN CASES IN INDIA ARE SPIRALLING LIKE NEVER BEFORE, PUTTING A TREMENDOUS PRESSURE ON OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. WE HOPE THE AVAILABILITY OF AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT SUCH AS FABIFLU® WILL CONSIDERABLY HELP ASSUAGE THIS PRESSURE, AND OFFER PATIENTS IN INDIA A MUCH NEEDED AND TIMELY THERAPY OPTION.”
Earlier last month, Glenmark also announced that it is conducting another clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of two antivirals Favipiravir and Umifenovir as a combination therapy in moderate hospitalized adult COVID-19 patients in India.