This archive report was first published on 8 May 2020.
On Thursday, Japan authorised the use of remdesivir, an antiviral drug, to treat coronavirus patients. This decision was made with the intention of approving another medication, Avigan, later this month.
Japan is now the second country to approve remdesivir, following the US, which authorised its use for emergency treatment of severe COVID-19 cases on Friday.
According to a health ministry official, remdesivir was approved under exceptional measures, marking the country's first such approval for treating coronavirus patients.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had previously stated that the government was preparing to give a speedy green light to the experimental drug developed by US firm Gilead Sciences.
Remdesivir, which was originally developed to treat Ebola, has shown promise in clinical trials, shortening the time to recovery in some patients by a third.
However, the difference in mortality rate was not statistically significant.
Remdesivir is administered by injection and was already available to some patients who enrolled in clinical trials around the world.
Merdad Parsey, chief medical officer at Gilead Sciences, stated that the Japanese approval of remdesivir is a recognition of the urgent need to treat critically ill patients in Japan.
Remdesivir works by incorporating itself into the virus's genome, short-circuiting its replication process.
Meanwhile, the Japanese government aims to approve Avigan, developed by Fujifilm Toyama Chemical, this month, pending the results of a clinical trial involving 100 patients.
Avigan, also known as favipiravir, was approved for use in Japan in 2014 but only in flu outbreaks that were not effectively addressed by existing medications.
It is not available on the market and can only be manufactured and distributed at the request of the Japanese government.
Avigan works by blocking the ability of a virus to replicate inside a cell, but it has been shown to affect foetal development, meaning it is not given to pregnant women.
