Chinese expert: Japan drug 'effective' against COVID-19

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - Scientists in China have praised a Japanese-developed drug for its effectiveness against the novel coronavirus which killed over 8,000 since its outbreak last December.

Zhang Xinmin, director of the China National Center for Biotechnology Development, told reports on Tuesday that Avigan, a drug produced by Japan's Fujifilm Holdings, has been effective against COVID-19, Tokyo-based daily the Nikkei reported.

"It [Avigan] is very safe and clearly effective," Zhang said at a news conference in Dalian, the capital of China's Liaoning province.

Avigan is the brand name of an influenza medicine known as favipiravir developed by Fujifilm Toyama Chemical in 2014.

Zhang said patients taking favipiravir tested negative after a median of four days, compared to 11 days in the control group. "There were no clear side effects," he added.

This statement came as a boon for shares of Fujifilm group which shot up over 15%.

Health officials in Beijing have already begun recommending the drug against the coronavirus, which first emerged in Wuhan, China.

Since February, Japan has been administering the drug to its coronavirus patients, now numbering over 800 cases excluding those found on the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship. At least 29 people have died because of the virus.

Worldwide, out of over 200,000 confirmed cases, the death toll now exceeds 8,000, while more than 82,500 patients have recovered, according to Worldometer, a website that compiles new case numbers.

The number of active cases is more than 109,000 -- 94% mild and 6% in critical condition, according to the website.