Some doubts about Fujifilm and Ansun's repurposing of flu drugs as COVID-19 candidates

13 May 2020

With Japan’s Fujifilm Toyama Chemical’s Avigan (favipiravir) already approved in Japan for influenza, that country had announced plans to stockpile two million courses of the oral drug for the treatment of COVID-19.

However, Reynald Castañeda, pharma writer for the investigative news team at GlobalData, notes that there are reservations about the drug’s potential in treating COVID-19.

USA-based Ansun Biopharma’s repurposing efforts with its clinical-stage flu candidate, DAS181, triggered similarly cautious views, according to Bernarda Tundzhay, another pharma writer for GlobalData’s investigative news team.

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