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Glenmark Pharma has received the Indian drug regulator's approval to launch the anti-viral drug favipiravir for treatment of COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate symptoms, the company said today. "This approval has been granted based on evaluation of data and in consultation with the Subject Expert Committee, as part of accelerated approval process, considering the emergency situation and unmet medical need of the COVID-19 outbreak," the company added. Glenmark had last reported that its favipiravir trials for COVID-19 had reached Phase 3. The drug can only be used in cases of emergency and family consent is mandatory before using it on patients, the regulator said. It is reported that favipiravir had been approved for COVID-19 patients. This copy has been updated after Glenmark's confirmation. The drug regulator says that surveillance for the first 1,000 patients will be needed after administering favipiravir to them, reported. While favipiravir is generally used for influenza around the globe, Russia, China and Japan have approved its drug's usage for COVID-19.