COVID-19: Clinical Trials for Avigan Started in the US: 3 Massachusetts Hospitals
Fujifilm Holdings (HD):
On April 9, the Company announced that it will begin a new corona infection patient / clinical trial (clinical trial) in the United States for the new influenza drug Avigan.
Start administration soon and confirm efficacy and safety.
The exam will be conducted at three facilities in Massachusetts, USA, including Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Aim for early approval in the US, where infection is spreading.
Kyodo News
https://this.kiji.is/620885809076421729
Fujifilm announces the start of a phase II clinical trial of its influenza antiviral drug “Avigan® Tablet” for COVID-19 patients in the U.S.
TOKYO, April 9, 2020
FUJIFILM announces the initiation of a U.S. phase II clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of its influenza antiviral drug “Avigan® Tablet” (generic name: favipiravir) for patients with COVID-19, a respiratory infection caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
Avigan, approved in Japan for manufacture and sale as an influenza antiviral drug,
selectively inhibits RNA polymerase necessary for influenza virus replication.
Due to this mechanism of action, it is expected that Avigan may potentially have an antiviral effect on the new coronavirus,
because like influenza viruses, coronaviruses are single-stranded RNA viruses that also depend on viral RNA polymerase.
On March 31, Fujifilm announced the start of a phase III clinical trial of Avigan for COVID-19 patients in Japan.
The clinical trial in the U.S.
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.
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.
Fujifilm Global