October 6, 2014: FUJIFILM Corporation (President: Shigehiro Nakajima; “Fujifilm”) announced that a French nurse who infected with Ebola virus and was treated with a combination of the anti-influenza drug Avigan® Tablet 200mg* (Favipiravir) and other unapproved drugs has recovered and left hospital on October 4. This information was relayed to Fujifilm by the French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety (ANSM), a French government agency.
The anti-influenza drug Avigan® Tablets was developed by the Fujifilm Group company Toyama Chemical Co., Ltd. ANSM requested the provision of Avigan® Tablets for the treatment of the French nurse to Fujifilm and, after discussions with the Japanese government, it was decided to meet this request as an emergency measure.
Fujifilm has also been informed by the University Hospital Frankfurt that an Ugandan Ebola patient admitted to the hospital was, on October 4 (local time), provided with Avigan® Tablets for treatment. These drugs were also supplied as an emergency measure following discussions with the Japanese government in response to a request from the hospital. The patient who had been engaging in medical activities in Sierra Leone was diagnosed as Ebola virus disease and then evacuated to Frankfurt for treatment.
The French government and the government of Guinea are considering the implementation, in November, of a medium scale clinical trial of Avigan® Tablets for the treatment of Ebola and have requested that we cooperate by providing the product. We are planning to cooperate with this request and are currently involved in discussions with the governments of Japan, France and Guinea.
As Ebola spreads, the Japanese government has announced that it is prepared to provide drugs developed by Japanese companies that might prove effective in the treatment of the Ebola. It is under these circumstances that Fujifilm has received several requests, not only from France and Germany but also from other countries and organizations, for the provision of Avigan® Tablets and we intend to continue discussing with the Japanese government how to respond.
* Avigan® Tablet 200mg :
Developed by Toyama Chemical and approved in Japan as anti-influenza drug in March 2014
For inquiries on information in this media release, contact:
Media Contact:
FUJIFILM Corporation
Corporate Communications Division
TEL: +81-3-6271-2000
Other:
Pharmaceutical Products Division
TEL: +81-3-6271-2171
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