Anti-influenza Avigan Tablets produced by Japan’s Fujifilm are displayed in Tokyo on October 22, 2014. Fujifilm said late on October 20 it would increase its stock of Avigan, which has been given to several patients who were evacuated from Ebola-hit West Africa to Europe. AFP PHOTO / KAZUHIRO NOGI (Photo by KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — The clinical trials in the Philippines for the Japanese antiviral flu drug Avigan will start on August 10, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Friday.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the Philippines has already received the Avigan tablets for the clinical trials, amid the continued search for a treatment for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“We will start on August 10 for this Avigan trial. Abangan lang po natin. Nandito na rin ang mga gamot. We are starting soon,” she said in an interview with Unang Hirit.
(We will start on August 10 for the Avigan trial. Let us just wait. The drugs are already here. We are starting soon.)
Vergeire said the drug has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in Japan, thus it will no longer have to undergo excessive regulatory processes in the Philippines.
“This trial has been approved by FDA and the ethics review board already kaya mag-u-umpisa na po tayo sa (so we can start on) August 10,” she added.
In a statement, the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines said the tablets for 100 patients have been delivered on Thursday “as part of its emergency grant aid to countries severely affected by COVID-19.”
It noted that the anti-flu drug “has drawn interest from many countries for its potential to prevent viral replication, even as its effectiveness against the novel coronavirus is yet to be established.”
“In response to the requests received from the international community, Japan has formed close cooperation with several countries, including the Philippines, to expand clinical research on Avigan as treatment for this infectious disease,” said the embassy.
“Each recipient government has acknowledged Avigan’s proper usage and prescription in view of its known adverse side effects,” it added.