Mumbai: In a landmark development for COVID-19 patients in India, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals today announced the launch of antiviral drug Favipiravir (brand name FabiFlu) for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 patients.
The Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company has received manufacturing and marketing approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), 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 company said in a release.
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.