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Fujifilm Holdings Inc. said on Friday that it applied in Japan for approval of the use of the influenza drug Avigan as a treatment for Covid-19 disease caused by the emerging coronavirus infection, in a statement on the company’s website.
Last month, the company said a recent-stage study on “Avigan” showed short recovery times for “Covid-19” patients with mild symptoms, and that it would seek to apply for regulatory approval this month at the earliest.
The study of 156 patients in Japan showed that those treated with Avigan improved their condition after 11.9 days compared to 14.7 days for patients taking a placebo.
Avigan, also known by its scientific name “favipiravir,” is approved in Japan as an influenza medicine. It is currently undergoing at least 16 clinical trials around the world, but concerns remain about the drug after animal studies showed it causes birth defects in births, according to Reuters.
According to the company statement, “Avigan” is an influenza drug developed by “FUJIFILM Toyama Chemical”, and received local manufacturing and marketing approval in March 2014 to treat influenza.
The statement said Avigan selectively inhibits RNA polymerase, which is essential for the reproduction of the influenza virus. Due to this mechanism, Avigan was expected to have an anti-effect effect on the emerging corona virus, because the Corona virus carries genetic material of the RNA type, and it is the same type of influenza virus.
Fujifilm Toyoma Chemical conducted a third phase of clinical trials in Japan in March this year for “Covid-19” patients with mild pneumonia.
The company confirmed that the use of Avigan showed a shorter recovery time for patients, with no identified safety concerns.
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