According to national media reports, the government of Japan has already begun planning approval of the antiviral drug Avigan as a treatment against COVID-19 for November, even ahead of the manufacturer’s formal approval request expected in October.

COVID-19: according to the intentions of the Ministry of Health of Japan, owner of the approval procedures, the review of the influenza drug Avigan, initially rejected because the information on efficacy and side effects required further investigation, will be completed in a record time of three weeks (the average approval period is one year), starting from the submission of the application for approval of the drug that will present the manufacturer, the pharmaceutical giant Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co.

COVID-19 in Japan: the real effectiveness of Avigan

Despite concerns about side effects and the sufficient amount of data analyzed, given the small number of patients available for the trial so far, out of 156 patients without serious symptoms, those treated with Avigan showed an improvement in their condition after 11.9 days, shorter than 14.7 days of those treated with placebo.

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WWW.DIRE.IT