Japan Donates Bulgaria a Drug for COVID-19

Japan plans to give free of charge to 20 countries, including Bulgaria, the Avigan flu drug also known as Favipiravir to be used to treat patients infected with the new coronavirus, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said today. by the national news agency Kyodo.

The drug is now undergoing clinical testing. Apart from Bulgaria, the 20 countries that will receive it are the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Iran, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Another 30 countries are interested in the drug, Motegi said.

Researchers from the university in the Wuhan Chinese city from where the pandemic started, and other institutions say the drug has effects in patients infected with the virus, especially those who have mild symptoms of the disease, Kyodo said.

The Japanese government plans to triple its stock of Avigan to use it to treat 2 million infected with the new coronavirus.

The drug was developed by an affiliate of the Japanese company Fujifilm.