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Coronavirus

Fujifilm to restart Avigan COVID-19 trials in Japan

Drug has already been approved in India and Indonesia for emergency use

Flu-fighting drug Avigan may see a second life in Japan as a COVID-19 treatment with a new trial set to begin in April.   © Reuters

TOKYO -- Japan's Fujifilm Holdings will restart a clinical trial for its flu-fighting drug Avigan to treat Japanese COVID-19 patients as early as April, Nikkei has learned, giving new life to the medication that had been seen as a potential game changer in the early stages of the pandemic.

Avigan, which has already been approved in India and Indonesia for emergency use to treat COVID-19 patients, could not win the green light in Japan last year after a health ministry expert board postponed a decision in December. 

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