Japanese firm, Fujifilm Holdings Corp announced on Thursday it would start the second phase of clinical trials of its new anti-flu drug Avigan for coronavirus patients in the United States. The trial will include 50 coronavirus patients in collaboration with Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, according to the New York Times reported. The antiviral drug, which is also known as favipiravir, has emerged as a potential drug to treat patients infected with the coronavirus. It has been developed by Japanese company Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Company, a unit of Fujifilm Holdings. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved on Wednesday the country's first clinical trial of the new drug, to be used by three Massachusetts hospitals. On April 5, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said his country plans to provide nations stricken by the coronavirus pandemic with the drug free of charge. He said the clinical trials were underway in the Asian country to ensure its effectiveness and safety for potential use in treating symptoms caused by the virus. The Japanese government had received requests for the new drug from more than 30 countries, Suga added. On March 31, Fujifilm announced the start of a third phase of clinical trial of its drug for coronavirus patients in Japan. Elsewhere in China, health experts hailed the new drug as "clearly effective" when used on 340 patients in trials in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, as it showed reduced recovery time and improved lung function, The New York Post reported. These patients tested negative for the virus with a median of four days after becoming positive — much lower than the average of 11 days for those who were not given the medicine, said Zhang Xinmin, director of China's National Centre for Biotechnology Development, according to the Guardian. "The trial also found that X-ray photos confirmed improvements in lung conditions in about 91 percent of the patients who were given the medicine. The number stood at 62 percent for those without the drug." Zhang added. "It has a high degree of safety and is effective in treatment," Also in March, Nikkei Asian Review reported that the German government wants to buy large amounts of Avigan to treat coronavirus patients with severe illness. Germany is aiming for short-term stockpiling of Avigan, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported.
