Fujifilm’s New Coronavirus Test can Produce Results in 2 Hours

Fujifilm announced that they developed a new fast test for Coronavirus. The New York Times writes:

The SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR Detection kit will be able to deliver results for the virus that causes COVID-19 faster than existing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which presently take four to six hours, the company said.

Fujifilm said the new COVID-19 test will be released on April 15 in their press release (machine translated PDF)

I live here in Italy, and here there is a lot of talk about the urgent need for a fast, simple and affordable test to diagnose COVID-19. Many companies are working on it and I am happy to see Fujifilm is on it, too.

  • read here – Fujifilm Manager Explains Impact and Challenges of Covid-19
  • read here – FUJIFILM Starts Phase III Clinical Trial of Antiviral drug “Avigan” on COVID-19 and Commits to Increasing Production
  • read here – Fujifilm Releases Information of Avigan Tablet in Relation to Covid-19 Coronavirus
  • read here – China Says FUJIFILM Drug Avigan Works Against Coronavirus COVID-19 and Shares Jump up 15%

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via the New York Times

FUJIFILM Starts Phase III Clinical Trial of Antiviral drug “Avigan” on COVID-19 and Commits to Increasing Production

We reported a few days ago here, how Zhang Xinmin, director of the science ministry’s China National Center for Biotechnology Development, said that the Fujifilm produced drug Avigan “has a high degree of safety and is clearly effective in treatment”.

We also reported how a Japanese health ministry source suggested the drug was not as effective in people with more severe symptom.

Shortly after that Fujifilm has issued an official statement you can read here.

Now Fujifilm published another official statement, where they announce the start of phase III clinical trial of “Avigan” on COVID-19 Coronavirus and the commitment to increase production.

Fujifilm announces the start of a phase III clinical trial of influenza antiviral drug “Avigan Tablet” on COVID-19 and commits to increasing production

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **

Fujifilm Releases Information of Avigan Tablet in Relation to Covid-19 Coronavirus

We reported a few days ago here, how Zhang Xinmin, director of the science ministry’s China National Center for Biotechnology Development, said that the Fujifilm produced drug Avigan “has a high degree of safety and is clearly effective in treatment”.

We also reported how a Japanese health ministry source suggested the drug was not as effective in people with more severe symptom.

Now Fujifilm has issued an official statement you can read below.

Press Release

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **

China Says FUJIFILM Drug Avigan Works Against Coronavirus COVID-19 and Shares Jump up 15%

Fujifilm shares jumped up 15% in a single day, after the Chinese government has officially recommended the use of Fujifilm’s drug AVIGAN to fight the coronavirus.

Zhang Xinmin, director of the science ministry’s China National Center for Biotechnology Development, says:

“It has a high degree of safety and is clearly effective in treatment”

According to TheGuardian, the medicine was test on 340 patients.

Patients who were given the medicine in Shenzhen turned negative for the virus after a median of four days after becoming positive, compared with a median of 11 days for those who were not treated with the drug, public broadcaster NHK said.

In addition, X-rays confirmed improvements in lung condition in about 91% of the patients who were treated with favipiravir [another name for Avigan], compared to 62% or those without the drug.

Just a few weeks ago, the Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato recommended Fujifilm’s Avigan drug to treat the Coronavirus. But the health ministry now specified:

But a Japanese health ministry source suggested the drug was not as effective in people with more severe symptoms. “We’ve given Avigan to 70 to 80 people, but it doesn’t seem to work that well when the virus has already multiplied,” the source told the Mainichi Shimbun.

As you know, FujiRumors lives in North Italy, currently the COVID-19 hot spot. An efficient cure would be the fastest way out of this. Let’s hope Fujifilm or somebody else will deliver that quickly.

via theguardian via asia.nikkei via via reuters via japantoday via bioworld via bloomberg