Coronavirus: Is Japanese anti-flu medicine Avigan a cure for COVID-19?

Tokyo: Medical experts in China have claimed that a new flu drug is ‘clearly effective’ in treating the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

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Favipiravir, the active ingredient in a Japanese anti-flu medicine called Avigan, was trialled on 340 patients with the disease in China, reported dailymail.co.uk

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Patients who took the flu drug recovered quicker and showed greater lung improvement compared with patients not given the drug.

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The component is thought to block the virus from replicating in the body.

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Doses will be investigated in more COVID-19 patients by Hong Kong researchers, who claim they will give their pill ‘for free’ if studies show it is safe.

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However, contradictory clinical trials suggest Favipiravir will not be useful in patients who have more severe illness.

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As of yet, there isn’t a treatment for the coronavirus pandemic. Most people have mild symptoms and can recover at home within a week.

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Almost 200,000 have been infected and 7,900 have died.

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It was given to 80 patients in Shenzen and in Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus first emerged in December 2019.

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Favipiravir has been effective, with no obvious side-effects, in helping coronavirus patients recover, Zhang Xinmin, an official at China’s Science and Technology Ministry, told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday.

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An oral medicine using favipiravir, developed by Hong Kong-based Sihuan Pharmaceutical, is also in line to try on COVID-19 patients.

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Led by Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, a clinical trial is part of a programme by Sihuan and the Institute of Microbiology Epidemiology, a division of the Chinese armed forces.

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The study will involve 60 COVID-19 patients who will be given treatment for around 10 days. Larger trials are expected later.

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Sihuan executive director Che Fengsheng has said, “After all the efforts and preparations, our group is fully prepared for favipiravir’s raw material and preparation production.”

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IANS

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