An-Najah News - Japanese media said on Wednesday that a flu drug used in Japan seems to be effective in treating coronavirus patients, according to medical authorities in China.

Favipiravir, a drug developed by a subsidiary of Fujifilm, had an interesting effect in clinical trials for 340 coronavirus infected people in Wuhan and Shenzhen according to an official science and technology ministry, Zhang.

 Zhang said that, the drug “is safe and clearly effective in treatment”.

Patients who tested positive for the virus, and were not treated with the drug, tested negative after 11 days, whereas COVID-19 patients who were treated with the medicine in Shenzhen, tested negative after 4 days only.

Additionally, the lung condition of patients who were treated with the medicine was improved in about 91% compared to 62% only for the ones that weren’t, as confirmed in X-rays.

However, a Japanese health ministry source said that “it seems when the virus has multiplied and the patients are having more severe symptoms, the medicine won’t seem to work”.

Because the medicine was made to treat flu, it still needs governmental approval in order for it to be used for all COVID-10 patients, and if it proved its effectivity, the approval may be out in May.