Japan's Fujifilm starts Avigan trial to take care of coronavirus
01 April, 2020
Japan's Fujifilm has begun clinical trials to test the potency of its anti-flu drug Avigan in treating patients with the brand new coronavirus, after reports of promising results in China.
Trials in China have suggested Avigan could play a role in shortening the recovery time for patients infected with coronavirus.
"The trial will be conducted on 100 patients until the end of June," a company spokesman told AFP on Wednesday.
"We will accumulate data, analyse them and apply for approval from then on," he added.
The drug will be administered for no more than 2 weeks to coronavirus patients between 20 and 74 years old with mild pneumonia, the spokesman said.
The study excludes women that are pregnant due to side effects demonstrated in animal testing, he added.
The phase three trial employs Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Saturday that the federal government "will begin the required process to formally approve (Avigan) as cure against the brand new coronavirus".
China has recently completed clinical trials on favipiravir, the key ingredient in Avigan, the country's ministry of science and technology said last month.
Two trials in the united states found the drug shortened recovery time for patients, but Fujifilm was not involved with those programmes.
Avigan happens to be approved for manufacture and sale in Japan as an antiviral drug for flu.
"It is expected that Avigan may potentially have an antiviral influence on the brand new coronavirus" given just how it works on the flu virus, Fujifilm said in a statement announcing the trial.
Researchers and companies around the world are racing to locate a cure for the new coronavirus, with the give attention to existing medicines such as for example anti-malaria and anti-HIV drugs.
Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to take care of malaria have demonstrated early promise against the COVID-19 illness in early studies in France and China.
But authorities urge caution until bigger trials demonstrate their effectiveness.
Medical researchers all over the world are also working to look for a vaccine for the virus, which has so far killed more than 42,000 persons globally.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com