Amidst various companies relentlessly conducting trials of potential COVID-19 treatment drugs across various geographies of the world, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., reportedly announced that it would start clinical trials in India of antiviral drug favipiravir anytime soon. It has been reported that favipiravir is seen as a potential treatment for ongoing coronavirus disease.

This announcement significantly increased the company’s shares by 9 per cent. Apparently, the decision comes after a Chinese official reportedly claimed that an active ingredient of the drug has been effective in treatment of coronavirus infected patients, without any associated side effects.    

According to official sources, the antiviral drug-favipiravir has been produced under the Avigan brand by a Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corp’s unit, that gained authorized approval for use as an anti-flu drug in the region in 2014.

A source close to the company quoted that the approval made Glenmark the first pharmaceutical company in India to commence trials on coronavirus patients in the country, that currently has over more than 1,000 fatalities related to the disease.

It has been reported that Glenmark would initially enroll nearly 150 patients with mild-to-moderate coronavirus infection in random trial whose results would then be compared to favipiravir with normal supportive care. Moreover, the trial is predicted to last for maximum of 28 days.

Speaking on the this, the executive VP for global R&D of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Sushrut Kulkarni quoted that post the successful development of API and its formulations, the company is set to immediately start clinical trials of favipiravir on COVID-19 patients in the states of India.

As per reliable reports, other Bengaluru based pharmaceutical company- Strides Pharma Science Ltd., declared that it had developed and already commercialized favipiravir antiviral tablets, and had also applied to the authorities for its trials.  

In wake of the current situation, drugmakers all across the globe have been striving to develop a vaccine or treatment for the rapidly spreading coronavirus that has till date claimed innumerable lives and disrupted the global economy. In support of this, early clinical results from Gilead Sciences Inc’s experimental antiviral drug remdesivir trial portrayed that it could help patients recover more quickly from the illness caused by coronavirus.

Source credit: https://in.reuters.com/article/us-glenmark-pharms-stocks/glenmark-to-conduct-trials-in-india-for-potential-covid-19-drug-idINKBN22C0IZ