PH in talks with Japan to test drug Avigan as potential COVID-19 cure

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MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is in the initial stages of talks with Japan about the use of drug Avigan to combat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Department of Health (DOH) said Saturday.

DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire made the revelation during the Laging Handa online press briefing.

“Meron din po tayong trial na sisimulan na nagkaroon po tayo ng kasunduan dito po sa ating government of Japan kung saan meron po tayong pagkakasunduan, kung magiging clear po ang ating arrangement, ito pong isang gamot naman which is Avigan,” she said.

(We will also have a trial, wherein we agreed with the government of Japan— if our arrangement will be clear—regarding the use of the drug Avigan.)

FILE – Anti-influenza Avigan Tablets produced by Japan’s Fujifilm are displayed in Tokyo on October 22, 2014. AFP PHOTO / KAZUHIRO NOGI (Photo by KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP)

Vergeire, however, noted that the two countries are still in its “initial stages of coordination” in testing the drug.

Avigan, an anti-viral medication, is only used in Japan for flu outbreaks aren’t being effectively addressed by existing medications. It is not readily available on the market, and can only be manufactured and distributed at the request of the Japanese government. 

Now, it is currently being tested as a potential cure for the new strain of coronavirus.

Previously, President Rodrigo Duterte and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe discussed the use of Avigan as a potential treatment for COVID-19. 

The Philippines currently has 7,294 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 792 recoveries and 494 deaths.