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Glenmarks drug for treatment of Covid 19

  • Drug firm Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on Saturday said it has launched antiviral drug Favipiravir, under the brand name FabiFlu.
  • It will be used for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate Covid-19.
  • The price for one tablet will be Rs 103 and will be available as a 200 mg tablet at MRP Rs 3500 for a stripe of 34 tablets.
  • FabiFlu is the first oral favipiravir-approved medication in India for the treatment of Covid-19.
  • The medicine is prescription based with recommended dose being 1800 mg twice on day one, followed by 800 mg twice daily up to 14 days.
  • This drug was already being used in many countries for influenza. They have been using it in covid 19 treatment as well.
  • Antiviral drug like Remdesivir and Favipiravir are not specifically used for Covid 19, but studies fount that there was some benefit of it, hence India has approved it for treatment.
  • 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.
  • The firm received manufacturing and marketing approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).
  • The company hopes that the availability of an effective treatment such as FabiFlu will considerably help to reduce the pressure.
  • The approval's restricted use entails responsible medication usage where every patient must have signed informed consent before treatment initiation
  • Favipiravir can be used for coronavirus patients with co-morbid conditions such as diabetes and heart disease with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms.
  • Favipiravir has shown clinical improvement of up to 88 per cent in mild to moderate COVID-19 cases.
  • Glenmark pharmaceuticals was the first company in India to initiate phase three clinical trials on Favipiravir for COVID-19 patients in India.

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