Favipiravir had produced positive outcomes during clinical trials conducted in Shenzen as well as the COVID-19’s epicenter Wuhan, according to Zhang Xinmin, director of China’s National Center for Biotechnology Development.
“It has a high degree of safety and is clearly effective in treatment,” CNBC mentioned Zhang.
COVID-19 patients treated with the drug developed by a subsidiary of Fujifilm in Shenzen was reported to turn patients negative for Coronavirus within a median of four days, rather than 11 days for those who were not given the drug favipiravir.
Per the data compiled by John Hopkins University, coronavirus has affected over 200,000 individuals globally with over 8,000 deaths.
“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. The director said the drug is highly safe and its effect is obvious, and formally recommend the use of the medicine as a way to tackle the virus,” mentioned the NHK report.
The report also highlighted the fact that one particular Chinese firm, which has licensed the drug from its Japanese developers, got the government’s approval a month ago in order to mass-produce the medication and help save thousands of people infected with the deadly virus.
Source: IBTimes.com (excerpts)