A flu medicine created by a Fujifilm Holdings group company is effective in combating the COVID-19, the government of China said on Tuesday.

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Beijing is Already Recommending the Drug

According to the China National Center for Biotechnology Development's director Zhang Xinmin, the drug is safe and effective at fighting the deadly novel coronavirus.

Treating COVID-19 Patients with Avigan 

There are other countries formulating vaccines to help cure the deadly novel coronavirus. Avigan is just one of the proposed cure for the COVID-19. This drug was created in 2014. Since February, the drug has been used to treat COVID-19 patients.

The shares of Fujifilm had increased by 15.4 percent in Tokyo on the afternoon of Wednesday. Due to the high number of buy orders of the stock, its morning trade was suspended. This event happened after the announcement of Beijing about the drug.

Clinical Trials of the Drug

The clinical trial for the drug was performed on 200 patients admitted at medical centers in Shenzhen and Wuhan.

According to the results of the clinical trials, all of the patients who took the drug tested negative for the deadly novel coronavirus in a shorter period. Additionally, the symptoms of pneumonia caused by the virus were reduced.

In a median of four days, all of the patients who took Avigan tested negative for the novel coronavirus. The control group took 11 days to recover from the deadly virus, says Zhang. As of the moment, there are no known side effects of taking the drug, the director added.

In a different clinical trial conducted in Wuhan showed that patients who took Avigan survived the COVID-19 in an average of 2.5 days while the other patient took 4.2 days to recover. The coughs of patients improved from 4.6 to 1.4 days earlier compared to those who were not given Avigan .

Out of the total patients in the trial who was given Avigan, only 8.2 percent needed respiratory aids while 17.1 percent of the control group needed breathing devices.

International Image of the Drug

The Avigan drug received regulatory approval in 2014 in Japan. One condition that allows the government to use the drug is for fighting new or re-emerging flu viruses. Studies are revealing that the drug may cause death or deformities. Additionally, the drug can be transferred in a man's semen.

The ministry of food and drug safety of South Korea decided not to import Avigan. The reason for this decision is the lack of sufficient clinical data to support the efficacy of the drug.

The inclining stock price of Fujifilm does not reassure the specific benefits of the company, especially when companies from China begins to mass-produce the drug. According to a spokesperson from Fujifilm, the company is not the one conducting these clinical trials in China of the medicine. They are currently analyzing the results of these clinical trials.

Patent and Reproduction of Avigan 

The company had been approved to reproduce the Avigan in February. There is a possibility of the creation of a generic version soon.

The patent of Fujifilm on Avigan is still effective in Japan. However, its patent in China ended last year. This will allow the production of a generic version of the medication.