Fujifilm research into Covid-19 drug Avigan spills into June, dashing hope of May approval

TOKYO (REUTERS) - Research into Fujifilm Holdings Corp's Avigan drug will continue into June, Japan's government said on Tuesday (May 26), effectively dashing hopes by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the drug would be approved as a Covid-19 treatment this month.

Mr Abe said earlier this month he hoped the drug would be approved some time in May if its efficacy and safety could be confirmed.

"The company will continue research into next month or so, and if an application for approval is received from the company, it will be promptly reviewed," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a regular briefing when asked about Avigan.

Mr Suga said trials of a coronavirus vaccine could begin as early as July, raising expectations about a candidate developed by Osaka University and biopharmaceutical firm AnGes Inc .

Kyodo News late on Monday reported the government had given up on Avigan's May timeline. Last week, the news agency said an interim study showed no clear evidence of the drug's efficacy in Covid-19 cases.

Fujifilm shares slumped last week after Kyodo reported that an interim study showed no clear evidence of efficacy for Avigan in Covid-19 cases.

"While we continue with the ongoing clinical trials, Fujifilm will remain in close contact with the regulatory authority and work toward the application for approval at the earliest possible timing," Fujifilm spokeswoman Kana Matsumoto said on Tuesday.

During an earnings briefing on May 22, Fujifilm Senior Vice-President Junji Okada declined to comment on when Avigan might be approved. The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Tuesday.

Interest in Avigan, known generically as favipiravir, soared in March after a Chinese official said it appeared to help patients recover from Covid-19, the potentially fatal respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus. The drug is now the subject of at least 16 clinical trials around the world.

Concerns remain about Avigan as it has been shown to cause birth defects in animal studies.

Japan's government has called on Fujifilm to triple national stockpiles of the drug, approved in 2014 as an emergency flu treatment, and pledged to donate it to countries upon request.

Dozens of clinical trials for potential Covid-19 treatments and vaccines are ongoing across the globe. One candidate is a DNA vaccine being developed by biopharmaceutical firm AnGes Inc and Osaka University.

The Nikkei newspaper on Monday said AnGes is set to begin a clinical trial of its vaccine in July, sooner than an initial start slated for September.

AnGes shares surged 11 per cent in Tokyo morning trade versus the broader market's 2 per cent. Fujifilm advanced 0.6 per cent