Chinese researchers say Avigan, an influenza drug developed by a Japanese pharmaceutical company, has been shown to be effective in patients infected with the coronavirus and is being widely used. Zhang Xinmin, director of the National Center for Biotechnology Development, told a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday about the results of the trial.
He said the drug was found to be effective in combination with clinical trials by two health groups in the country, and that it had no effect on the symptoms of coronary heart disease. The drug was tested on 280 cases of coronavirus in Wuhan and 80 in Shenzhen. Some were given the drug and others were monitored without medication. Patients who received the drug recovered after four days, while those who did not take the drug recovered after 11 days, he said.
Xp-ray images of the experiment showed that the drug improved the lung function in patients with 91% improvement, while the lungs in patients who did not take the drug improved by only 62%.
It is not the main drug for the virus, but it is very effective and safe in the fight against the virus, he added. (As some have written online, it is not a cure for the coronavirus, but a cure for infected people.)
China has been using the drug in Japan since last month with government approval. So far, more than 81,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus in China, of which 3,241 have died and more than 69,000 have recovered, bringing the total to 10,000. The flu vaccine, also known as Avav, also known as Favipiravir by Chinese researchers, was first developed in Japan in 2014. The company is a subsidiary of Fujifilm Holdings Corporation.
Fujifilm is best known as a camera company, but it is also a major manufacturer of not only photographic and camera equipment, but also pharmaceuticals and cosmetics and cosmetics. Officials at Fujifilm did not immediately comment on the report, but the company said it had bought it immediately and its shares had risen sharply by almost 15%.
