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DID FABIFLU IS THE MEDICINE OF COVID-19 ?

Fabiflu in COVID-19 

As we know the vaccine is still a long distance away and no sign of the coronavirus infections slowing down in the country , homegrown pharmaceutical companies have been given permission to launch generic versions of Remdesivir and Favipiravir , anti-viral drugs that have shown promise in treating Covid-19 patients.


Glenmark pharmaceuticles has launched favipiravir under the brand name FabiFlu for treatment of mild to moderate cases of Covid-19 , cipla and hetero labs have received approvals from the Drug Controller General of India to launch generic versions of Remedesivir under the names Cipremi and Covifor respectively.

While medical experts have cautioned against seeing these potential drugs as a "magic bullet" against the deadly virus , they can be helpful in reducing the viral load as India continues to post new record highs in infection on a daily basis.

Remedesivir and Favipiravir are two of the 130 under experimentation drugs worldwide to treat covid-19.

Covifor and Cipremi are the two drugs launched by Cipla and Hetero are generic versions of Remedesivir , an antiviral drug first developed for treating Ebola in 2014.
it is administered intravenously and inhibits viral replication in the body.

Last month , the US National Institutes of Allergies and Infectious Diseases had released preliminary trial results showing recovery time of Covid-19 patients given Remedesivir improved from 15 to 11 days.

The Health ministry had approved the use of Remedesivir for mild cases of Covid-19 through an emergency authorisation route.

Since Remedesivir has not been approved as treatment for Covid-19 yet and has been approved by the DCGI only for restricted emergency use , a patient would need to sign a consent form in case it is administered .
It is not recommended for those with severe renal impairment and high level of liver enzymes , pregnant and lactating women , and those below 12 years.

FABIFLU will be manufactured by Mumbai based Glenmark Pharmaceuticals as the genric version of Favipiravir , an anti viral drug approved in Japan for treating influenza.
The oral medicine is approved only for emergency restricted use in mild to moderate Covid-19 cases.
The approvals restricted use entails responsible medication use where every patient must have signed informed consent before treatment initiation.

It is currently being tested in 18 clinical trials for Covid-19 and results from two studies have shown positive outcome , while data from othre trials is awaited.

Glenmark has claimed that Favipiravir shows clinical improvements of up to 88 percent in Covid-19 with rapid reduction in viral load by four days.

The drug will be available as a precription based medication for Rs 103/tablet , with recommended dose being 1800 mg twice daily on day 1 , followed by 800 mg twice daily up to day 14.
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