The government is to add antiviral medication Avigan to the list of products subject to strict regulations that protect Japanese companies from foreign acquisitions, government sources said.
The decision is aimed at ensuring a stable supply of the drug, which is hoped to be an effective treatment against COVID-19. The regulations are based on the revised Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law, which went into effect on Friday.
The revised law defines 12 business sectors that are particularly important for national security as "core sectors," and obliges foreign investors to report to the government in advance purchases of 1% or more of shares in such companies.
There are 518 companies in the core sectors.
The pharmaceutical and medical device industries are not included in the 12 core sectors, but the government is planning to add them to the list.
The government is already in the process of revising its ministerial ordinances regarding the matter and is expected to make a formal decision in June. Unlike laws, which need the Diet's approval for revision, alteration of ministerial ordinances require only the Cabinet's approval.
Avigan is manufactured by Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co., a Fujifilm Corp. subsidiary. Several other companies are also involved in the manufacture of the drug, from the supply of the drug's raw materials to the manufacture of tablets.
Among them, Denka Co. and Kaneka Corp. will be newly designated as companies subject to the same protections as core-sector firms.
Ube Industries Ltd., which has also announced it is supplying raw materials to make Avigan, and Fujifilm have already received such a designation.
There are hopes Avigan will be an effective treatment for people who have been infected with the novel coronavirus.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced at a May 4 press conference the government's intention to approve the drug this month.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
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