Fabiflu: Is the medicine a saviour from COVID-19 for everyone?

Introduction

The Mumbai-based pharmaceutical firm, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, received approval for the manufacturing and marketing of the antiviral drug Favipiravir under the brand name Fabiflu from the DCGI( Drugs Controller General of India). The drug will be for the treatment of patients having mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19. The company has stated that Fabiflu is the first oral medication approved for the treatment of COVID-19.

"This approval comes in times when cases are spiralling like never before, putting tremendous pressure on our healthcare the system”, says Glenmark pharmaceutical chairman and Managing Director Glen Saldana.

The Origin of the drug

In the year 2014, Japan had approved this drug under the brand name Avigan. Avigan is a drug by Fujifilm, used to treat influenza and other viral diseases. According to Fujifilm, Avigan tablets can have efficacy against the new coronavirus infection in view of its characteristic mechanism of action. The drug has been proved effective in many clinical trials held in various countries like Russia, USA, Japan.

“We continue to receive promising data during the clinical trials of Favipiravir. At least 85% of patients in the control groups completely recovered from coronavirus within 10 days after the start of the treatment with the drug. We expect a positive final result of the trial, which will enable us to complete the registration procedure for the drug in Russia and roll out full-scale production and delivery to medical institutions across the country” – the statement by the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev proves the effectiveness of the drug favipiravir.

Is the drug accessible for everyone?

According to a report from The Hindu, top 1% of the Indian population held 62% of all the ₹17-lakh crore in circulation, and the top 0.1% held 33%, a third of ₹17-lakh crore in circulation at the time of demonetization. This presents a sad picture of an unequal Indian society. The Gini Coefficient, a measure to test the inequality is 0.71 for India, a significantly high value(0 indicates perfect equality, 1 indicates perfect inequality).

Through the above fact, it is evident that during these tough times when the nation's economic activities are not happening at its full pace, the daily wage workers who form quite a large part of the Indian population will very soon run out of savings and cash.

Apart from the loss of saving, unemployment is a big issue that has aroused due to pandemic. According to a report from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy(CMIE), the employment rate has risen from 7% before the start of the pandemic around Mid-March to 27.11 % till the starting of May. This spike in the unemployment rate brings out the suffering of the formal sector employees and also the financial recession that firms are going through. People who have been successful in retaining their jobs aren't too happy. The financial losses have compelled the firms to cancel the allowances and the bonuses to their employees. It clearly shows how every sector of society is suffering from the scarcity of money.

You must be wondering why all these details are being mentioned. The price set by Glenmark for this drug is INR 103 per tablet. The prescribed dose includes 18 tablets to be consumed on the first day and 8 tablets for the next 14 days. That adds up to 130 tablets to get the full treatment of the drug. Therefore, the price of the tablets required for the during the treatment will be INR 13,390.

The pandemic has its effect from the poor to the affluent. The cash inequality in Indian society added with the loss of jobs and no economic progress in past months raises a question in mind if this medicine is for everyone?

By Divyanshu Trivedi