Israel getting Japanese drug Avigan for experimental use
Israel has received a shipment of the drug Avigan, also known as Favipiravir, and will begin experimenting on COVID-19 patients with it, the government and two hospitals say.
The drug, made by a Fujifilm subsidiary, has been touted by Japan and China as helping mildly sick patients quickly recover from the virus and not get any sicker.
There have been no clinical trials completed yet, but a Chinese minister recently called the drug “very safe and clearly effective,” while declining to release any raw data, according to Wired magazine.
According to the Chinese authorities, patients on the drug were cleared of the virus within four days on average, a week earlier than those who recovered when put on other treatments.
A joint statement from the Foreign Ministry, the Health Ministry and Ichilov and Hadassah hospitals says the drug was approved for experimental use, pending final approval from the Health Ministry.
The statement says Israel is one of the first countries to get the drug from Japan, crediting its diplomatic contacts with Tokyo.
The drug is already being used in China, Turkey and Italy, according to reports.
A notice from the Italian Pharmaceutical Agency last month warned that evidence for the drug’s efficacy was scant and that it does not seem to help those already seriously ill.
However, Dr. Esti Sayyag of Ichilov Hospital says in the statement that Avigan “stands out” among other drugs being tried as possible cures for COVID-19 for its “safety and it’s possible potential.”
She adds that the drug can “contribute to flattening the curve and improving our ability to deal with the scope of sickness that we are experiencing in Israel.”
