⁍ Carelink will use Fujifilm’s data on Avigan’s treatment of novel coronavirus infections and influenza to seek imported drug approval in China.
⁍ The two companies also plan to develop an injectable form of the drug.
– Japanese camera maker Fujifilm is teaming up with a Chinese pharmaceutical company to try to bring an anti-viral drug to China. The companies plan to use Fujifilm’s data on the drug, called Avigan, to get approval for it in China, Reuters reports. They also plan to develop an injectable form of the drug. Fujifilm last week announced that it was seeking approval for Avigan in Japan, following results from a late-stage study that showed it reduced recovery time for patients with non-severe symptoms. Avigan, originally developed as an emergency flu drug, has been approved in India and Russia to treat COVID-19. Fujifilm sold global rights in July on Avigan to India’s Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Dubai-based Global Response Aid. That deal excluded China, Japan, and Russia. Last month, Fujifilm said the late-stage study of 156 COVID-19 patients in Japan showed that symptoms of those treated with Avigan improved after 11.9 days, versus 14.7 days for a placebo group. Results of the study, conducted by subsidiary Fujifilm Toyama Chemical, were found to be statistically significant.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fujifilm-avigan-china/fujifilm-partners-shanghai-firm-to-seek-china-covid-19-approval-for-avigan-idUSKBN27707Z