This photo illustration taken on October 22, 2014, shows the flu-treatment drug Avigan, produced by Japan’s Fujifilm, on display in Tokyo. – Japan’s Fujifilm said on April 1, 2020, it has begun clinical trials to test the effectiveness of its anti-flu drug Avigan in treating patients with the new COVID-19 coronavirus, after reports of promising results in China. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP FILE)
MANILA, Philippines — The clinical trials for Japan’s antiviral drug Avigan on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in the Philippines have yet to start, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.
“Ang Avigan trials natin hindi pa siya nag-uumpisa. Supposedly it was set to start last August 17 but there had been a lot of processes na hindi pa natatapos,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an online media forum.
Vergeire said the budget for the trials has yet to be approved and that only the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) out of the four participating hospitals was able to secure the go signal from the ethics review board.
Aside from the PGH, the Sta. Ana Hospital, Dr. Jose M. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, and Quirino Memorial Medical Center will serve as sites for the clinical trials for Avigan which will run for nine months.
Vergeire said efforts are underway to complete the necessary requirements to start the study by next month.
The government has set aside at least P18 million for the Avigan trials.
Avigan reportedly yielded positive results in treating COVID-19 patients in China, especially those with mild symptoms.
Aside from this, the Philippines is also part of the World Health Organization’s solidarity trial which tests Remdesivir and interferon against the novel coronavirus that has already infected nearly 190,000 people nationwide.
Vergeire said there are currently 932 patients enrolled in WHO’s solidarity trials in the country.