MANILA, Philippines — The clinical trials of Japanese anti-flu drug Avigan on coronavirus patients in the country may start this week, the Department of Health said Monday.
Processing delays hampered the start of the nine-month clinical trials, which was initially slated on August 17.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the clinical trial agreement was signed by the DOH and the University of the Philippines Friday. The agreement was among the reasons of delay of the clinical evaluation.
“We just need to fix the database for this information system of the electronic data capture form. And hopefully, this week, we can begin,” Vergeire said in Filipino.
Some 100 patients would take part in the trials that would study Avigan as a possible COVID-19 treatment. The Philippine General Hospital, Santa Ana Hospital, Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Quirino Memorial Center are the participating hospitals.
The DOH earlier said that P18 million had been allocated for the study.
Avigan is the brand name of the drug favipiravir developed by Fujifim Toyama Chemical Co. In 2014, it was approved for use in Japan but only in flu outbreaks. The drug can only be manufactured and distributed at the request of the Japanese government.
Clinical trials in China suggested that Avigan could play a role in shortening the recovery time for patients who have contracted the new coronavirus. However, there are concerns about the drug’s side effects such as birth defects.
The new coronavirus has infected 322,497 people in the Philippines, with 5,776 deaths. — with report from Agence France Presse