In the search for potential therapies for coronavirus infections, medical institutions, pharmaceutical companies and universities are conducting clinical trials (see below) and other studies of existing and unapproved drugs developed to treat other diseases. These include drugs made by Japanese companies, which, if found to be safe and effective, could become established therapies. The government also plans to work closely with other countries in jointly developing therapeutic agents and vaccines.
Seeking intl partners
The Tokyo-based National Center for Global Health and Medicine is seeking approval from the government for the antiviral drug Remdesivir as an official therapeutic agent. The center is expected to join an international clinical trial led by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, possibly by the end of the month.
The center has already obtained approval from its internal review board and begun administering the drug to critically ill patients.
Remdesivir was developed by the U.S. drug company Gilead Sciences Inc. to treat Ebola, but has not been approved.
Medical institutions in the United States are administering it to patients infected with the new coronavirus. Gilead is also planning clinical trials in Japan, the United States and other places.
Tokyo-based Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co. is planning a clinical trial for Avigan, a drug it manufactures for treating new forms of influenza. Fujita Health University in Toyoake, Aichi Prefecture, has begun administering it to patients in a clinical study. Gunma University in Maebashi is also conducting clinical research.
On Tuesday, the Chinese government said it planned to recommend Avigan because it had been shown to be effective with no apparent side effects. Other candidates include the HIV drug Kaletra, the asthma drug Alvesco, the anti-malarial agent Chloroquine and the acute pancreatitis drug Nafamostat.
The effects of these drugs are being investigated in clinical studies and other research at several medical institutions.
Nafamostat appears to prevent the new coronavirus from entering human cells. Remdesivir, Avigan and Kaletra could hinder the proliferation of the virus inside cells.
"I think we'll know if there's an effect or not within six months," said Norio Omagari, director of the Disease Control and Prevention Center, which is part of the National Center for Global Health and Medicine. Omagari is researching treatment methods as part of a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry research team.
A statement released by the leaders of the Group of Seven nations on March 16 laid out a policy for cooperating on the rapid development, manufacture and distribution of therapeutic agents and vaccines.
In phone calls last week with the foreign ministers of Italy, Canada, Germany, the European Union and the United States, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi confirmed that Japan would look for ways to work with other nations in developing drugs and other treatments.
--Clinical trials
These studies are conducted based on the pharmaceuticals and medical devices law to investigate the effects of drugs on humans and other factors. Once safety and efficacy are confirmed, a drug can be approved by the government. This usually takes several years. Clinical research involves the investigation of the usefulness of therapeutic agents.
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