Fujifilm Holdings Corp. said Thursday it has partnered with Shanghai-based Carelink Pharmaceutical Co. to exclusively market its anti-viral drug Avigan for COVID-19 treatment in China.
Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co., a subsidiary of Fujifilm Holdings, will also work with the Chinese pharmaceutical company to develop a form of the drug that can be administered via parenteral injection.
Last Friday, the company filed for approval with Japan's health ministry to market Avigan, also known as favipiravir, for COVID-19 treatment.
If approved, the drug would be the third treatment in Japan for the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, following the anti-viral medication remdesivir developed by U.S. firm Gilead Sciences Inc. and the steroid dexamethasone.
Avigan has already been approved as an influenza drug in Japan and the government has stockpiled the drug in preparation for an outbreak.
