India’s First COVID-19 Drug Fabi Flu

Bhubaneswar : Having received the manufacturing and marketing approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), drug firm Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has launched antiviral drug Favipiravir, under the brand name FabiFlu, for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 patients. Price at ₹103 per tablet, the prescription-based drug will be available as a 200 mg tablet at an MRP of ₹3,500 for a strip of 34 tablets.

Things to know about the new Covid-19 drug:

1) The recommended dose of Favipiravir is 1,800 mg twice daily on day one, followed by 800 mg twice daily up to day 14. It is a prescription-based medicine.

2) The drug will be available both through hospitals and the retail channel, Glenmark said.

3) Dr Rommel Tickoo, Associate Director, Internal Medicine, Max Healthcare, said the drug could be a “potential game-changer”. “We don’t have much data, but whatever data we have shows that it is promising. We will have clearer information about the efficacy of the drug in the next two months.

4) Favipiravir can be used for coronavirus patients with co-morbid conditions such as diabetes and heart disease with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms, Glenmark said.

5) It offers rapid reduction in viral load within four days and provides faster symptomatic and radiological improvement. Favipiravir has shown clinical improvement of up to 88 per cent in mild to moderate COVID-19 cases, the drug manufacturer said.

6) Considering a minimum of two strips per patient, Glenmark will be able to provide FabiFlu for about 82,500 patients in the first month itself.