The Japanese government is going to facilitate fast approval of Remdesivir, an antiviral drug for treating Ebola, as a potential treatment for patients with COVID-19, media in Japan reported on Tuesday, citing Health Minister Kato Katsunobu
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th April, 2020) The Japanese government is going to facilitate fast approval of Remdesivir, an antiviral drug for treating Ebola, as a potential treatment for patients with COVID-19, media in Japan reported on Tuesday, citing Health Minister Kato Katsunobu.
Remdesivir is developed by the US biotech firm Gilead Sciences and has previously been tested on humans to treat Ebola. On Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that the government would approve the drug in Japan as soon as clinical trials are over.
According to Health Minister Katsunobu, as cited by the NHK broadcaster, Remdesivir will be fast-tracked via a special approval system which is applied in emergencies to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
The condition for the drug to get approved in Japan is if it gets approved in other countries, as stated in the report.
The Japanese government is reportedly waiting for the results, in particular, of Germany and the United States, the first countries to start screening Remdesivir for approval.
Should Japan approve the drug, it would become the country's first coronavirus treatment.
As of Tuesday, the Japanese health authorities have reported a total of 13,607 COVID-19 cases, including 11,328 active cases, 380 fatalities and 1,899 recoveries.
