Mankind Pharma launches drug to treat black fungus

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Mankind Pharma on Thursday said it has launched Posaconazole Gastro-resistant tablets, used to treat black fungus, in the country.

The company has launched the drug under the brand name Posaforce 100.

“As the cases of black fungus are increasing day by day, the product has been launched to fight against this infection. The drug firm always strives to launch affordable medicines with an endeavour to achieve the best quality standards in the pharmaceutical industry,” Mankind Pharma said in a statement.

The country has seen more than 12,000 cases of deadly black fungus (mucormycosis), so far with Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana, accounting for the maximum number of cases.

Posaconazole has been found to be a safer and effective drug of choice for the management of the disease. The drug has received approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), the drugmaker noted Besides, AIIMS and ICMR have also recommended the use of Posaconazole as an effective option for the management of mucormycosis, it added.

The antifungal drug with minimal potential for nephrotoxicity and excellent tolerability profile has been cleared by the USFDA.

Black fungus commonly occurs in soil, and airborne spores often produce infections.

Life-threatening conditions like severe Covid-19 infection; prolonged immune suppression or reduced immunity, uncontrolled diabetes mellitus or hematological malignancies and even open wounds contamination with Mucorales can lead to this infection.