19 October 2020 - Fujifilm said it was seeking approval for its flu drug Avigan as a treatment for COVID-19 in Japan, a move that comes after a late-stage study showed reduced recovery time for patients with non-severe symptoms.

Japan has already approved Avigan, known generically as favipiravir, as an emergency flu medicine, which is the subject of at least 16 clinical trials around the world. 

But concerns remain, as the drug has been shown to cause birth defects in animal studies.

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