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Coronavirus

Japan aims to make Avigan for coronavirus minus imported material

Country's sole maker of key material in drug, Denka, to resume production

The Japanese drug Avigan, approved as an anti-influenza medication, is seen as a promising treatment for coronavirus.    © EPA/ Jiji

TOKYO -- Japan's Denka Co. announced on Thursday that it will resume manufacturing a key component for Avigan, as the country seeks to ramp up production of the the anti-influenza drug seen as having promise treating COVID-19.

The company will next month start producing diethyl malonate -- a chemical also used in perfumes, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals -- at its factory in Niigata Prefecture.

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