Govt has approved the sale and production of FabiFlu tablets in India, which is a variant of Favipiravir medicine. Costing Rs 103/tablet, this anti-viral drug is being manufactured and sold by Mumbai based Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.
Govt Approved Favipiravir For Treating Coronavirus
A new anti-viral drug called Favipiravir has been approved by Indian drug regulator Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to be treated for mild to severe coronavirus cases in India.
Mumbai based Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has received the green signal to manufacture and sell this medicine under the brand name FabiFlu.
Costing Rs 103/tablet, this medicine can help corovirus patients get timely treatment.
The entire pack of 34 tablets of this medicine costs Rs 3500.
How Much Dosage Is Recommended?
As per India Today, the dosage is 200mg * 9 tablets on Day 1, and then 200mg * 4 tablets for 14 days.
Hence, in 15 days, a coronavirus patient can recover using FabiFlu, as per the records available.
But a consultation with Doctor is highly recommended, before administrating this medicine.
Clinical Trials 80% Successful
As per the reports, Genmark conducted clinical trials on 90 mild and 60 moderate coronavirus patients across 11 cities in India.
The success rate has been stated as 80%.
Besides Glenmark, some other pharma companies such as Delhi-based Brinton Pharmaceuticals, Bengaluru-based Strides Pharma, Mumbai-based Lasa Supergenerics and Hyderabad-based Optimus Pharma have also applied for getting the green signal to manufacture and sell this medicine.
But Experts Warn:
Some health experts have warned that FabiFlu medicine and other variants of Favipiravir is not a magic drug, and caution must be taken.
Dr Vikas Maurya, Director, Department of Pulmonology and Sleep Disorders, Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh said, “It is not a magic bullet as it is not the only thing we have to give. This is not a specific drug made for Covid-19 and has been found to be useful, but how much it will be useful we will have to see. Real efficacy will be known when administered on a large scale,”
He added, “The best thing is that it is an oral drug, while Ramdesiver is an intravenous drug. It (Favipiravir) can be even taken at home. So even if it is giving some benefit, it will be quite useful”.
Japan had already approved the use of this medicine for treating influenza since 2014, and is sold under brand name Avigan by Fujifilm Toyama Chemical.
Russia, Japan and Saudi Arabia has already included this medicine under their treatment protocol, even as clinical trials are underway on 3000 subjects across India, USA, Canada, Italy, China, France, UK.
For therapeutic management of COVID-19 in Bangladesh and UAE, Favipiravir is alreayd being used.
