Drug firm Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on Monday said it has reduced the price of its antiviral drug Favipiravir, under the brand name FabiFlu, which is used to treat mild to moderate COVID19.
According to the company, the new price of the drug has been fixed at Rs 75 per tab instead of its earlier rate, Rs 103 per tab.
It said Glenmark’s price reduction by 27% aims to make FabiFlu further accessible for COVID19 patients across the country.
Also read: Glenmark Pharmaceuticals launches Covid19 drug Favipiravir
“The price reduction has been made possible through benefits gained from higher yields and better scale, as both the API and formulations are made at Glenmark’s facilities in India, the benefits of which are being passed on to patients in the country,” the company said in a statement.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals launched FabiFlu last month at a price of Rs 103 per tablet.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is a Mumbai-based research-led, integrated global pharmaceutical company.
The drug firm on Monday announced that it has commenced a Post Marketing Surveillance (PMS) study on FabiFlu to closely monitor the efficacy and safety of the drug in 1000 patients that are prescribed with the oral antiviral, as part of an open label, multicenter, single arm study.
Glenmark has successfully developed the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and the formulation for FabiFlu through its own in-house R&D team within the country, ensuring self-reliance with regard to longterm production and manufacturing.
“The API is manufactured at the Gujarat production facility which is USFDA & MHRA–UK approved. The formulation product is manufactured at the facility in Himachal Pradesh, which is also USFDA and MHRA-UK approved,” it said.
Regarding the developments, Alok Malik, senior vice-president & head, India business, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., said, “We expect this post marketing surveillance study to shed more light on the drug’s clinical effectiveness and safety in a large cohort of patients prescribed FabiFlu.”
“Our priority from the start of this pandemic has been to offer patients in India an effective treatment for COVID-19, while also ensuring accessibility to the masses.”
“Our internal research shows us that we launched FabiFlu in India at the lowest market cost as compared to the cost of Favipiravir in other countries where it is approved.
“And now we hope that this further price reduction will make it even more accessible for patients across the country,” he said.
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 COVID19.
Most patients exhibiting mild to moderate symptoms can benefit from FabiFlu use, it said.
Glenmark said it has completed the phase 3 clinical trial with Favipiravir (FabiFlu) in mild to moderate COVID-19 patients in India.
“The trial results will be available shortly,” it added.
“Glenmark is also conducting another Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of two antivirals drugs Favipiravir and Umifenovir as a combination therapy in moderate hospitalized adult COVID-19 patients in India,” it further said.
The combination study which is called the FAITH trial is looking to enroll 158 hospitalized patients of moderate COVID-19 in India, it added.