COVID-19: Japan's Fujifilm expecting Avigan trial results next month

Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corp has said that it is expecting data from the clinical trial of Avigan drug to be ready in about a month. In June, a subsidiary for the company started testing the anti-flu drug, Avigan on COVID-19 patients after it yielded results in China. According to the company, the drug could shorten the total time required by coronavirus patients to recover.

Speaking at the first-quarter earnings call on August 13, company’s director Junji Okada, said that the last person entered that trial on August 16 adding that the results would follow after a month. Elaborating further, he said that if the trials are successful, the company would work with Japanese regulators on submitting the drug for approval.

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Final approval to be delayed?

In April, the company began clinically testing the drug with the testings was scheduled to end in June. However, a report in Japanese newspaper alleged that the final approval of the drug would be delayed until July due to lack of patient for testing. Commenting on the report, a Fujifilm spokesman reportedly said that there was a possibility that the clinical trials would continue in July.

According to reports, the firm was expected to give the approval for the drug in May but it was then postponed to June. However, a review by Japan's largest financial newspaper stated that the researchers were only able to get 70 per cent of the total patients required for the trial and since it took 28 days, the process would continue till July.

The trial involved the drug to be administered for a maximum of 14 days to coronavirus patients between 20 and 74 years old with mild pneumonia. The study excludes pregnant women due to side effects shown in animal testing, he added. However, the delay has come as a major setback to the company racing to develop a vaccine for Coronavirus.

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