BREAKING! The drug helping coronavirus patients recover - apparently found.
Favipiravir, (in Japan known as Avigan), is an antiviral drug being developed by Toyama Chemical, a subsidiary of Fujifilm (yes, the company you may know for photographic paper and cameras!).
According to Chinese doctors:
Favipiravir has been effective, with no obvious side-effects, in helping coronavirus patients recover, Zhang Xinmin, an official at China's Science and Technology Ministry, told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday.
Another good news is the drug has been approved in Japan a few years ago, which means several clinical tests have been performed and the road from the news to hospitals will be much shorter than for completely new, experimental drugs.
As with all drugs, we need to wait for further confirmation on efficacy against coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 causing covid-19.
I hear about a lot of drugs they're trying: antivirals, antiretrovirals, zinc supplements, even an antibiotic. We'll see what works best. But we can probably expect an effective drug before a vaccine is developed, tested an produced.