COVID-19: FabiFlu replaces anti-diabetic drug to become top-selling pharma brand in India

As India reels under a second and more deadly wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVID drug FabiFlu sales witness a jump of 600% in the month of April. 

Glenmark's FabiFlu, the generic version of Japanese anti-influenza drug Favipiravir is now the top-selling brand in the pharma retail market of India, data shows.

Sales of the drug which was running short of supply and saw constant SOS calls floating on social media went up by over 600% or six times, in one month.

Earlier, five out of the top 10 largest-selling drugs in the country were lifestyle ailments drugs - anti-diabetes followed by cardiac care drugs. 

The top four medicine brands sold in India - Abbott's Mixtard, USV's Glycomet GP, Sanofi India's Lantus, and MSD Pharmaceutical's Janumet, all for the treatment of diabetes.

However, in April, when COVID-19 cases in India first breached four lakh infections a day, the top-selling drugs became Zincovit, Dolo, Monocef and Betadine.

Zincovit had been topping the chart since last October after the use of Zinc tablets gained prominence in the treatment of COVID-19.

But now when India witnessed the highest number of infections, hospitalisations, and deaths, FabiFlu replaced multivitamin drug Zincovit, with sales of Rs 351 crore in the month of April alone.

FabiFlu is approved to be used to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults under restricted emergency use. 

Fabiflu mops up Rs 762 cr sales in the last 12 months, higher than the anti-diabetic drug, Glycomet-GP sales of Rs 564 crore.

In March, FabiFlu registered sales of Rs 48.3 crore when India was registering around 15,000 cases daily. Since the launch of the drug last June, Mumbai-based Glenmark has registered a turnover of Rs 762 crore.