Japanese Drug Effective Against Coronavirus

As the number of global coronavirus cases surpassed 200,000 as of March 18, 2020, a Japanese flu drug undergoing clinical trials in China has been posited as a possible treatment for coronavirus. The drug, favipiravir, is sold under the brand name Avigan, has effectively helped patients recover from the coronavirus. Around 200 patients in the Chinese cities of Wuhan and Shenzen received the drug as part of the trial, Nikkei reported. Results showed that patients tested negative for the virus in an average of 4 days, instead of the 11 days in the control group, according to Nikkei, citing Zhang Xinmin, director of the Chinese government’s National Center for Biotechnology Development. Zhang represented that the drug "is very safe and clearly effective" and that there were no clear side effects from the drug. It was originally developed by Fujifilm Toyama Chemical in 2014, according to Nikkei Asian Review, and currently, shares of Fujifilm spiked over 15% Wednesday in response. However, the company does not expect an earnings impact for the drug because its Chinese license on the drug’s key ingredient expired in 2019. Doctors in Japan are using the same drug in clinical studies on coronavirus patients with mild to moderate symptoms, hoping it will prevent the virus from multiplying in patients. However, a Japanese health ministry source suggested the drug was not as effective in people with more severe symptoms. “We’ve given Avigan to 70 to 80 people, but it doesn’t seem to work that well when the virus has already multiplied,” according to the Japanese health ministry. The Japanese government supplied favipiravir in 2016 to help combat the Ebola outbreak in Guinea.