Glenmark reduces price of COVID-19 drug FabiFlu to Rs 75 from Rs 103 per tablet

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has also cut the price of COVID-19 drug FabiFlu by 27 per cent to Rs 75 per tablet from the earlier Rs 103 per tab. The company cited the price reduction to gains from higher yields and better scale, as both the API and formulations were made at Glenmark's facilities in India. Both the API and formulation for FabiFlu have been developed by the company's in-house R&D teams in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh units.

Meanwhile, Glenmark has also started a post-marketing surveillance study on FabiFlu in 1,000 patients to assess its efficacy and safety. "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 access to the masses," Alok Malik, Senior Vice President & Head - India business, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd, said.

"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 added.

FabiFlu was originally launched at Rs 103 per tablet in India, while its price is higher in the other countries; Rs 600 per tablet in Russia; Rs 378 per tablet in Japan; Rs 350 per tablet in Bangladesh and Rs 215 per tablet in China.

Glenmark is the first oral drug that has been approved for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 patients in India. The manufacturing and marketing approval was granted as part of the accelerated approval process, considering the emergency situation of the COVID-19 outbreak in India.

According to the company, most patients exhibiting mild to moderate symptoms can benefit from FabiFlu usage. Glenmark has also completed the phase 3 clinical trial with Favipiravir in mild to moderate COVID-19 patients in India. Moreover, 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 hospitalised adult COVID-19 patients in India. The combination study, called the FAITH trial, is looking to enrol 158 hospitalised patients.