Abe Promotes 'Avigan'... "Too Early to Judge Its Effectiveness"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] It has been reported that Avigan, a novel influenza treatment developed by a Japanese company and intended to be approved this month as a treatment for COVID-19 by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, did not show clear effectiveness in studies.

On the 20th, NHK reported that a study is being conducted by administering Avigan to 86 COVID-19 patients hospitalized at several facilities including Fujita Medical University in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, comparing whether the virus decreases.

According to an interim analysis of about 40 patients, which is half of the total, it was stated that "it is premature to judge the effectiveness" and that "clinical research will continue." The clinical research results are to be evaluated by a third-party committee. If there are safety concerns at the interim stage, the study would be stopped, but NHK added that this time the conclusion was reached that further research is necessary to evaluate efficacy.

Furthermore, it has been understood that the clinical research, which the government expects to use as data when reviewing the approval of Avigan, did not clearly demonstrate Avigan's effectiveness. According to the Mainichi Shimbun, the interim interpretation results reported to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in mid-month showed no clear difference in virus reduction rates due to Avigan administration.

Also, the authorities collected information on about 3,000 patients administered Avigan in a nationwide medical institution study, but no definitive results were reported from this either. A related official said, "It can be supplementary material in the review, but cannot be used as a main basis for approval."

Daisuke Tamura, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases at Jichi Medical University, said, "Drugs should be released to the world after the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare or regulatory authorities evaluate their benefits and risks," adding, "There is no data showing Avigan has outstanding effectiveness. It should be carefully evaluated based on scientific evidence."

Regarding this, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on the day, "I understand that observational studies, clinical research, and clinical trials by companies are currently underway," and added, "If a company submits an approval application, we intend to conduct a prompt review based on the data and, after expert opinions are obtained from the review board and efficacy and safety are confirmed, approve it within this month." Health Minister Katsunobu Kato also stated at the House of Representatives Budget Committee, "Our stance of waiting for clinical research and clinical trial results and analyses remains unchanged."

Previously, Prime Minister Abe had actively promoted Avigan, a novel influenza treatment developed by Toyama Chemical, a subsidiary of Fujifilm, as a treatment for COVID-19. Despite side effects such as the possibility of birth defects, he showed enthusiasm by stating that Avigan would be approved as a COVID-19 treatment by the end of this month. This drew attention even to the relationship between Prime Minister Abe and Fujifilm Chairman Shigetaka Komori, but Secretary Suga refuted this by saying, "There is no connection."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.