Japan’s Health Minister Kato Katsunobu said in a television broadcast on Tuesday that he intends to authorize remdesivir as a coronavirus remedy if an advisory committee approves it on Thursday. Kato said U. S. pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences applied for approval on Monday.
The approval procedure usually takes a year, but the government speeds it up to about a week. To do so, the application must meet certain conditions. First, there will have to be a pressing need for the drug in question (e. g. , a drug would be eligible if it is the only way to treat a virus that poses a serious risk to public health). they must already be sold in countries with approval systems similar to Japan’s.
Remdesivir was originally developed through Gilead as a remedy for the Ebola virus. The drug prevents the virus from replicating inside the human body.
The U. S. Food and Drug AdministrationIt authorized its emergency use to treat coronavirus patients on May 1. A clinical trial conducted in the United States showed that the drug reduced drug recovery for 4 days.
But Professor Morishima Tsuneo, an expert in the treatment of infectious diseases, says the drug’s side effects carry an increased risk of kidney problems. He argues that the use of remdesivir deserves to be reserved for medical facilities that are forced to treat many severe cases.
Avigan, also known as Favipiravir, is a medication used to treat the flu. It emerged six years ago through the Japanese pharmaceutical company Fujifilm Toyama Chemical.
Like remdesivir, Avigan has been shown to be effective in inhibiting viral replication. It has already been approved in Japan as a flu drug. However, it has shown effects on animal embryos in trials.
Chinese researchers say the lungs of coronavirus patients improved after receiving Avigan in clinical studies. They have already listed Avigan among their officially approved coronavirus drugs.
Soumya Swaminathan, a lead scientist at the WHO, told NHK in an interview on Tuesday that there is not yet enough knowledge about whether Avigan is effective in treating the coronavirus.
On Monday, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo said his goal would be to authorize Avigan as soon as this month if its efficacy is proven in clinical trials.
The drug has been administered to about 3,000 more people in the country in clinical trials.
The government says only about 80 countries have requested materials from Avigan. The first batches will be delivered to 43 countries through a United Nations organization. The beneficiary countries will then send the knowledge from the clinical trial to Japan.