Glenmark meeting surge in demand for Favipiravir
Exploring newer options for the management of Covid-19 and similar infectious diseases with focus on antifungals
Hyderabad: Globally, Favipiravir has been used by various countries to treat patients with mild to moderate Covid-19. Glenmark, which introduced FabiFlu (favipiravir) a year ago, is scaling up its production as well as exploring newer options for the management of Covid-19 and similar infectious diseases with focus on antifungals.
In India, Mumbai-headquartered Glenmark was the first pharmaceutical company to conduct phase 3 clinical trials of Favipiravir and receive regulatory approvals to launch Favipiravir (brand FabiFlu) in India as early as June 2020.
“Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Glenmark has supplied FabiFlu to more than 20 countries. However, since the start of the second wave in the country around mid-March 2021, we scaled up our production capabilities for manufacturing and supplying FabiFlu, in order to meet the demand within India,” Glenmark spokesperson told Telangana Today.
With the second wave of the pandemic, the healthcare system has been yet again under pressure due to the steep rise in the Covid-19 cases. Most of those affected, especially the patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 have been advised to home-quarantine and prescribed repurposed drugs such as Favipiravir, thus helping reduce pressure on the healthcare sector, company spokesperson added.
As per AIOCD AWACS data for April 2021, FabiFlu accounted for Rs 351.9 crore worth of sales and 36.6 lakh strips, in terms of volume for the month. Glenmark topped the charts in terms of sales value, growing multi-fold from March levels.
Cardiac management
When asked if Glenmark sees an emergence of the need for new cardiovascular drugs, in the wake of Covid, the spokesperson said, “Management of cardiac arrest has not changed, but pre-existing cardiovascular disease seems to be linked with worse outcomes and increased risk of death in patients with Covid-19, whereas Covid-19 itself can also induce myocardial injury, arrhythmia, acute coronary syndrome and venous thromboembolism. Hence anticoagulants and antithrombotics have come into focus.”
Myocardial injury refers to injury of the muscle cells of the heart. Arrhythmia is a group of conditions in which the heartbeat is irregular, too fast or slow. Acute coronary syndrome is a range of conditions associated with sudden, reduced blood flow to the heart. Venous thromboembolism refers to a blood clot that starts in a vein. Anticoagulants and antithrombotics are used to prevent blood clots.
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