New Delhi: A Pharmaceuticals company Glen mark launched anti viral drug Favipiravir for the treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 cases. Glen mark Pharmaceuticals said it has launched antiviral drug Favipiravir, under the brand name FabiFlu, for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 at a price of about Rs 103 per tablet. Glen mark pharmaceuticals were the first company in India to initiate phase three clinical trials on Favipiravir for COVID-19 patients in India.

FabiFlu is the first oral Favipiravir-approved medication in India for the treatment of COVID-19, Glen Mark said in a statement. The Favipiravir drug will be available as a 200 mg tablet at a maximum retail price of Rs 3,500 for a strip of 34 tablets, Glen mark Pharmaceuticals said.

It is a prescription-based medication with recommended dose being 1,800 mg twice daily on day one, followed by 800 mg twice daily up to day 14, it added. The tablets are being produced by the company at its Baddi facility in Himachal Pradesh. The drug will be available both through hospitals and the retail channel, Glen mark said. The Mumbai-based firm had on Friday received the manufacturing and marketing approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

Considering the emergency and unmet medical need for COVID-19, the DCGI under the fast-tracked approval process granted domestic firm Glen mark Pharmaceuticals the permission to manufacture and market Favipiravir (200 mg) tablet. Favipiravir can be used for Covid-19 patients with co-morbid conditions such as diabetes and heart disease with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms, Glen mark Said. The approval’s restricted use entails responsible medication usage where every patient must have signed informed consent before treatment initiation, Glen mark said.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Chairman and MD Glenn Saldanha said in the statement, that “This approval comes at a time when cases in India are spiralling like never before, putting a tremendous pressure on our healthcare system,” The company hopes that the availability of an effective treatment such as FabiFlu will considerably help assuage this pressure, and offer patients in India a much needed option of timely therapy, he added. It offers rapid reduction in viral load within four days and provides faster symptomatic and radiological improvement.