Glenmark to study efficacy of two antiviral drugs for treating COVID-19

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday said it will undertake a new study to test the combined efficacy of two antiviral drugs, Favipiravir and Umifenovir, as a potential COVID-19 treatment regimen. The two antiviral drugs have different mechanisms of action, and their combination may demonstrate improved treatment efficacy by effectively tackling high viral loads in patients during the early stage of COVID-19, Glenmark said in a statement.

The Glenmark study will examine whether early administration of a combination of Favipiravir and Umifenovir, both acting by different mechanisms, enhances antiviral efficacy on COVID-19 patients, it added. "Combining antiviral agents that have a good safety profile and act on different stages of viral life-cycle is an effective treatment approach to rapidly suppress initial high viral load and lead to an overall improvement in clinical parameters," Glenmark Clinical Development Global Specialty/Branded Portfolio Vice President and Head Monika Tandon said.

The company expects that the study will be pivotal in leading to the identification of highly effective and safe treatments against COVID-19 in India, she added. Glenmark is already conducting phase 3 clinical trials of Favipiravir as a COVID-19 monotherapy option with 150 patients, enrolled from nine leading government and private hospitals across the country.

The monotherapy phase 3 clinical trial results are expected by July or August. The Mumbai-based drug firm was the first entity in the country to receive Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approval to conduct Favipiravir clinical trials against COVID-19.