The Japanese drug Avigan, also known as Favipiravir, is showing positive results in the treatment of coronavirus infections in Kuwait, after 20 patients recovered over a course of 10 days after treatment, Al-Qabas daily reports.
The daily said, quoting sources, that the pill can also be taken when the first symptoms of the coronavirus infection appear, and mentioned it was used on 20 patients hospitalized in Jaber Hospital and the field hospital in Musharraf, and it has proven to be very effective even with the elderly.
Prior to treatment, the patient signed a declaration of consent for the drug, based on the instructions of the Ministry of Health. The medicine was given to patients with moderate and light symptoms, but not on those in intensive care wards.
According to the patient results, most of them tested negative after five days of taking the drug, instead of 10 days for those that did not take the drug.
The rates of recovery are expected to increase in the coming period, added the daily, quoting sources, as health officials begin prescribing the medicine to more patients in COVID-19 wards, especially those that are experiencing shortness of breath.
The sources pointed out that the use of Avigan by the Ministry of Health was in accordance with the guidelines prepared from Japan, and on the recommendations of the World Health Organization.
Despite the positive results, the Health Ministry continues to monitor the latest developments of treatments and vaccines for the coronavirus, which are going through clinical trials and then will be officially approved by international organizations in those countries.
The ministry of Health had recently received the first shipment of the Japanese drug Avigan after positive results in clinical trials conducted by many countries on mild and moderate cases of the coronavirus (Covid-19). The Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health for Medicines and Medical Equipment, Dr. Abdullah Al-Badr upon receiving the medicine said, “The first shipment of medicine is designated for emergency responses and humanitarian purposes.”
What is Avigan?
Developed by the Japanese corporation, Toyama Chemical Co, a subsidiary of Fujifilm Holdings, Avigan is an anti-influenza medication that was approved for manufacture and sale in Japan in 2014.
Although back in April the medication was gaining traction, recently it has been discouraged as clinical studies are proving to be disappointing and the regulatory review is slowing down, Reuters reported.
Last month, Fujita Health University announced that the Avigan clinical trial, conducted between March and May on 89 patients across Japan, was inconclusive.
Currently, there are at least 25 Avigan clinical trials occurring around the world. The Philippines began a nine-month clinical trial on August 17, across four hospitals in the country’s capital island Manila.
Global Response Aid (GRA) and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories will begin selling the anti-viral drug Avigan in India following a recent decision by government health authorities to approve the drug’s active ingredient, Favipiravir, for treatment of patients infected with Covid-19.
Avigan was approved for manufacture and sale in Japan in 2014 as an influenza anti-viral drug. It has generally been used only when there is an outbreak of novel or re-emerging influenza virus infections in which other influenza anti-viral drugs are either not effective or insufficiently effective.
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