Glenmark launches Covid-19 drug after DCGI nod

New Delhi: Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on Saturday said it has launched antiviral drug Favipiravir, under the brand name FabiFlu, for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate Covid-19. The Mumbai-based drug firm had on Friday received manufacturing and marketing approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

FabiFlu is the first oral Favipiravir-approved medication for the treatment of Covid-19, the company said in a statement. "This approval comes at a time when cases in India are spiralling like never before, putting a tremendous pressure on our healthcare system," Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Chairman and Managing Director Glenn Saldanha said.

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 and timely therapy option, he added. FabiFlu has demonstrated an encouraging response in mild to moderate Covid-19 patients during clinical trials, Saldanha said. Moreover, it is orally administered, and so it serves as a more convenient treatment option over other intravenously administered medications, he noted.