Mumbai-based firm Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on Monday reduced the price of favipiravir – its oral antiviral drug for coronavirus patients – by 27% from Rs 103 per tablet to Rs 75.
“The price reduction has been made possible through benefits gained from higher yields and better scale,” the company said in a press release. “Glenmark’s price reduction aims to make FabiFlu [favipiravir’s brand name] further accessible for COVID-19 patients across the country.”
The pharmaceutical company also said it has begun a study to closely monitor the efficacy and safety of the drug in 1,000 patients.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals India’s Senior Vice-President Alok Malik said that the company’s objective since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis was to develop an affordable yet effective medicine. “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,” he said in a company statement. “And now we hope that this further price reduction will make it even more accessible for patients across the country.”
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Glenmark had announced last month that it had received manufacturing and marketing approvals from the Drug Controller General of India for favipiravir, which was meant to treat mild and moderate coronavirus cases. Glenmark has also completed the phase 3 clinical trial of the medicine, the results of which will be available shortly, the company said.
Remdesivir is another drug approved for the treatment of coronavirus patients in India. Earlier this month, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare revised the prescribed dosage of the anti-viral drug from six days to five.
India reported a record 28,701 new coronavirus cases on Monday. The country’s tally rose to 8,78,252. The toll reached 23,174 with 500 new deaths. More than 5.53 lakh people in India have recovered.
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