Fujifilm Holdings Corp says it has has stopped development of its anti-viral drug Avigan for treating COVID-19, saying it was unable to confirm its effectiveness in a clinical trial.
Avigan, initially developed as a drug for influenza, emerged as a potential treatment for the novel coronavirus during the early stages of the pandemic.
The Japanese camera and medical equipment maker applied for government approval in October 2020. But a panel of experts at the health ministry held off on authorization, saying it was hard to confirm its effectiveness with the available data at that time.
The company subsequently began a new clinical trial in 2021, aiming to test the drug on 316 patients, but ended up testing on only 84 people before terminating the trial this year, it said.
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Fujifilm Holdings Corp says it has has stopped development of its anti-viral drug Avigan for treating COVID-19, saying it was unable to confirm its effectiveness in a clinical trial.
Avigan, initially developed as a drug for influenza, emerged as a potential treatment for the novel coronavirus during the early stages of the pandemic.
The Japanese camera and medical equipment maker applied for government approval in October 2020. But a panel of experts at the health ministry held off on authorization, saying it was hard to confirm its effectiveness with the available data at that time.
The company subsequently began a new clinical trial in 2021, aiming to test the drug on 316 patients, but ended up testing on only 84 people before terminating the trial this year, it said.