Mass. Hospitals To Launch Trial Of Japanese Drug Aimed At Fighting COVID-19
Original article from WBUR by Barbara Moran, 2020
Three Massachusetts hospitals will soon launch the first U.S. clinical trials of a Japanese antiviral drug, to see if it works in treating COVID-19.
The drug, Avigan (favipiravir), has been approved in China for treating influenza, but has not been approved in the United States for that purpose, or for fighting any other disease.
Avigan is now being tested in clinical trials in China, Japan and Italy to treat patients with the coronavirus. Trials in Massachusetts will enroll approximately 50 patients with COVID-19, in collaboration with Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, according to a statement from the manufacturer, Fujifilm Holdings Corp.
“Fujifilm will continue to work to establish a treatment method for COVID-19 patients through conducting clinical trials, and to contribute to ending the spread of this global pandemic as soon as possible by increasing the production of Avigan in collaboration with strategic partners,” the company said.