Glenmark Pharma’s COVID-19 drug FabiFlu now cheaper in India

Drug firm Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on July 13 said it has cut price of its antiviral drug Favipiravir, under the brand name Fabi Flu , for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 by 27 percent. The new price is Rs 75 per tab from the earlier Rs 103 per tab. The company believe that price reduction will make it even more accessible for patients across the country.

According to Glenmark, the price reduction has been made possible through benefits gained from higher yields and better scale. The internal research of the company showed that they launched FabiFlu in India at the lowest price as compared to the cost of Favipiravir in other countries where it is approved.

Further, the company has commenced a post marketing surveillance (PMS) study on FabiFlu to closely monitor the efficacy and safety of the drug in 1,000 patients that are prescribed with the oral antiviral, as part of an open label, multicenter, single arm study.

On June 20, Glenmark announced that it received manufacturing and marketing approval from India’s drug regulator for FabiFlu, making it the first oral Favipiravir- approved medication in India for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19.

The pharma company has also completed the phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of two antiviral drugs Favipiravir and Umifenovir as a combination therapy in moderate hospitalised adult COVID-19 patients in India.