The central government plans to gradually unlock or resume everything from July even as an average of over 12,000 COVID-19 cases are being recorded on a daily basis now in India. Efforts to come up with a vaccine are being made in full flow but hopes regarding the same seems to be heading downhill. Amid such a time, when all it requires is a good news to feel less anxious, Mumbai based company Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has launched a drug for the treatment of mild to moderate novel coronavirus patients. The drug is called Favipiravir and the pharmaceutical company is selling it under the brand name Fabiflu.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is the first Indian company to launch the antivirul drug for commercial purposes after getting approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the Indian drug regulator. There are 34 tablets of Fabiflu in one packet which is priced at Rs 3,500 i.e. Rs 103 per tablet.
Dosage
The drug should be consumed only after consulting a doctor, of course. On day one of the treatment 9 tablets of 200mg each should be consumed and thereafter 4 tablets of 200 mg should be taken for the rest of the 14 days of treatment. Again, one should consult a doctor on this dosage before going ahead with it.
Testing And Result
Before launching the drug, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals conducted a trial on 60 mild and 90 moderate COVID-19 patients across 11 sites in India, and an effectiveness of 80% in the treatment of those patients were achieved.
Others To Launch The Drug
Delhi-based Brinton Pharmaceuticals, Bengaluru-based Strides Pharma, Mumbai-based Lasa Supergenerics and Hyderabad-based Optimus Pharma are willing to launch the same drug in India and have applied for approval from the DGCI.
Glenmark developed this drug through in-house research and development and experts believe the drug can provide an interim relief from the deadly virus till the time a vaccine is developed by India.
Coronavirus Cases In India
Till the filing of this report, India recorded over 4,40,000 COVID-19 cases with just over 14,000 deaths. Of the total number of cases till now, 2,37,000 patients have recovered from the disease. In the last 24 hours, the country recorded over 15,000 new cases and 306 deaths.
