Kenya plans to start using a flu drug developed in Japan to treat coronavirus. Acting Director of Health Patrick Amoth said the government was in discussion with Japan to receive batches of the antiviral drug, called Favipiravir or Avigan. The drug has been used for years in Japan to treat influenza and, last month, it was approved as an experimental treatment for Covid-19. Favipiravir was originally developed to treat influenza by Toyama Chemical, which is owned by Fujifilm, the Japanese photography company that now has sizable holdings in biomedicine. Even as Japan has allowed off-label use of the drug against Covid-19, the manufacturers have been careful not to trumpet the effects of their drug because it is unclear on what level of severity the drug will work.

Source: The Star April 10, 2020 03:00 UTC