Chinese experts: Japanese anti-flu drug 'effective' in treating coronavirus

(Patria) – Medical experts in China claim that a drug used in Japan for common flu has proven effective in treating patients infected with the coronavirus.

Zhang Xinmin from the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology claims that Favipiravir has produced encouraging results in clinical application on 340 patients in Wuhan and Shenzhen.  

- The drug has a high level of safety and is effective in treatment, Zhang told reporters on Tuesday.

The British newspaper The Guardian writes that patients in Shenzhen who were given this drug tested negative for the virus just 4 days after a positive test, which is a shorter period compared to patients who did not receive the drug and tested negative after 11 days.

In addition, X-rays showed improvement in lung condition in about 91% of patients treated with favipiravir, compared to 62% of patients who did not receive treatment.

Fujifilm Toyama Chemical, which produced the drug in 2014 (also known as Avigan), declined to comment on the claims.

In 2016, the Japanese government included favipiravir in state aid in the fight against the Ebola virus in Guinea.

Following Zhang's claims, the company's shares rose by 14.7% on Wednesday.

Japanese doctors are using the same drug in clinical studies for patients with mild to moderate symptoms of coronavirus, hoping to prevent the virus from multiplying.

However, a source from the Japanese Ministry of Health claims that the drug is not effective in people with severe symptoms where the virus has already multiplied.

Similar limitations have been identified in patients receiving a combination therapy of lopinavir and ritonavir, used for HIV infections.

In any case, favipiravir must be approved by the Chinese government to enter use, which will likely happen in May if clinical trials confirm the drug's effectiveness.