Mumbai based Glenmark Pharmaceuticals announced that it will introduce a 400 mg version of oral antiviral FabiFlu®, for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in India.

The higher strength will improve patient compliance and experience, by effectively reducing the number of tablets that patients require per day.

A higher pill burden has been associated with lower adherence to therapy, the latter affecting viral suppression and overall treatment outcomes.

Also reducing the pill burden has been a demand from doctors and patients to enable adherence. The 200 mg dosage of FabiFlu® required patients to take 18 tablets on Day 1 (nine in the morning and nine in the evening), followed by 8 tablets each day thereafter for a maximum of 14 days.

With the new 400 mg version, patients will now have a more relaxed dosage regimen, with 9 tablets required on Day 1 (4.5 in the morning and 4.5 in the evening), and thereafter 2 tablets twice a day from Day 2 till end of the course.

Explaining the significance of this development, Dr. Monika Tandon, Vice President & Head, Clinical Development, Global Specialty/Branded Portfolio, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., said, “Being the first company to launch Favipiravir in India, we continue to innovate and seek new treatment options for Covid-19 patients. Introducing this higher strength of FabiFlu® is in line with these efforts to ensure a smoother experience for patients, by reducing their daily pill burden.”

“The 200 mg dosage of FabiFlu® was developed in line with global formulations of the drug Favipiravir, which had similar strength. The 400 mg version is a result of Glenmark’s own R&D efforts to improve treatment experience for patients in India,” she added.