Shionogi launches highly touted flu drug in Japan

15 March 2018

A month after gaining approval, Japanese pharma company Shionogi (TYO: 4507) has launched the single-dose flu drug Xofluza (baloxavir marboxil) in its home country.

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare approved the drug in February for treatment of influenza types A and B, it having been reviewed under a fast-track process that the ministry introduced in 2015.

Xofluga’s approval garnered attention partly because patients require just a single oral dose, whereas they take Roche’s (ROG: SIX) Tamiflu (oseltamivir) – currently the leading antiviral on the market - for five days. The times it takes to alleviate symptoms is similar with both drugs.

This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.

Try before you buy

Free

7 day trial access

Take a Free Trial

All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.

Become a subscriber

£820

Or £77 per month

Subscribe Now

Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription

The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed

Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK