Japan licensed the first Covid-19 medication, not the free one

The first drug approved to treat Covid-19 in Japan was not a drug manufactured by Fujifilm.

On the evening of May 7, Japan licensed the use of Remdesivir, a drug developed by US company Gilead Sciences to treat Covid-19. According to Nikkei, Remdesivir will be used for severe Covid-19 patients.

The American Remvidivir Covid-19 has been licensed in Japan, even before the Avigan drug that the country is testing. (Photo: Reuters)

Japan quickly licensed Remdesivir after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed it last week. Immediately after being approved by the FDA, Gilead asked for the right to be evaluated in countries other than the US, and only 4 days after the drug was certified by Japan.

In late April, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published a study showing that Covid-19 patients treated with Remdesivir had recovered after an average of 11 days, while the time for the control group was 15 days. The trial also concluded that there was no difference in mortality.

"Licensing takes place at the speed of light. The time from clinical trials to licensing is only 90 days," Bloomberg quoted FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn as saying.

Earlier, in early April Japan said it was conducting clinical trials, and is expected to license the drug for Avigan , developed by Toyama Chemical company of Fujifilm Holdings to treat Covid-19. This is a drug that Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato directly "ordered" Fujifilm's Toyama Chemical to deal with Covid-19 from late February.

Data from this drug from China show positive results when applied to Covid-19 treatment. In China, Favipiravir (commercially registered as Avigan) has proven effective at many hospitals in Wuhan and Shenzhen.

Zhang Xinmin, director of the National Center for Biotechnology Development of China's Ministry of Science and Technology, said the drug was "very safe and clearly effective" when treating Covid-19 infected patients. .

Japan is also testing Avigan (Favipiravir), a Covid-19 treatment developed by Toyama Chemical. (Photo: Reuters)

At a hospital in Shenzhen, Mr. Zhang said patients treated with Favipiravir had a negative result after an average of 4 days, while the subjects who used another method gave an average of 11 days. . In a study conducted in Wuhan, patients treated with this drug reduced their fever 2 days earlier than the other medicine group.

Although Japan has not yet finished clinical trials, Japan is also willing to let other countries use Avigan for Covid-19 treatment. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga at a news conference said up to 30 countries have ordered Avigan medicine through diplomatic channels.

"We are arranging for free medicine supply," Mr. Suga said.

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