Apr 12 , 2020. 6 hours ago – 10:24 KYODO NEWS

The central Japanese prefecture of Toyama will help boost production of antiviral flu drug Avigan, which is seen as effective in treating COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, its governor said.

“I will ask pharmaceutical companies in Toyama Prefecture to cooperate in boosting production (of Avigan),” Toyama Gov. Takakazu Ishii said recently. “If the made-in-Toyama medicine can help Japan and the rest of the world (in their fight against the coronavirus), we will do whatever we can.”

Japan plans to offer the drug, developed by Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co., a subsidiary of Fujifilm Holdings Corp., for free to at least 20 countries hoping to use it to treat coronavirus patients. The Japanese government also plans to triple the stockpile of Avigan for use in treating 2 million COVID-19 patients.

Fujifilm Toyama Chemical is headquartered in Tokyo but has plants in the central Japan prefecture, known as a major producer and seller of medicine in the country.

Kimiyasu Shiraki, a professor emeritus at the University of Toyama, is among researchers involved in the development of the drug, also known as Favipiravir.

CR: KYODO NEWS