Japan May Already Approve Antiviral Agent in Corona Battle This Week

Japan may give a green light on Thursday for the use of the antiviral agent in the treatment of patients with Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

 

Then a committee of the Japanese Ministry of Health will consider whether the drug can be approved more quickly.

Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said he will immediately adopt a positive opinion from the experts. “Once imported, we want it to be able to be used as soon as possible by people with serious complaints,” the minister said on Japanese television.

The drug’s maker, Gilead, the pharmaceutical company, has asked Japan for an accelerated approval process.

Recently, the US drug watchdog also authorized the FDA to use remdesivir to treat patients with the coronavirus.

This involved accelerated approval of experimental medicines in an emergency. Multiple studies are still ongoing to find out exactly how effective it is in treating patients with Covid-19.